“Compost Application in the Vineyard: Effects on Soil Nutrition and Compaction”

In a recent context where consumers pay an increasing attention to sustainability and eco-friendly aspects in the decision-making process, the use of the resistant varieties in the wine sector have returned to the attention. In this context, the use of mould-resistant grape varieties would be an opportunity for sparkling wine producers as it can reduced the pesticide utilization in grape management and hence production costs. However, the use of the resistant varieties to produce the base wine may be strongly influenced due to its requirements for a particular balance between sugars and acidity to ensure the quality of the final product. In addition, the aromatic profile of base wine plays a crucial role in the perception of the quality of the sparkling wine.

Rootstocks not only provide tolerance to Phylloxera, but also ensure the supply of water and mineral nutrients to the whole plant. Rootstocks are an important way of adapting to environmental conditions while conserving the typical features of scion varieties. We can exploit the large diversity of rootstocks used worldwide to aid this adaptation. The aim of this study was to characterise rootstock regulation of scion mineral status and its relation with scion development.

Botanist Andreas Raphael Wolny collected a grapevine herbarium from 1812-1824 in Sremski Karlovci (wine region of Vojvodina, Serbia), which represents local cultivated grapevine diversity before the introduction of grape phylloxera in the region. The herbarium comprises over 100 samples organized into two subcollections based on berry colour (red and white varieties), totaling 47 different grape varieties. The objective of this study was to investigate the historical varietal assortment of Balkan and Pannonian winegrowing areas with long viticulture traditions.

Grapevine cultivars can be unequivocally typed by both physical differences (ampelography) and genetic tests. However due to their very similar characteristics, the identification of clones within a cultivar relies on the accurate tracing of supply records to the point of origin. Such records are not always available or reliable, particularly for older accessions. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) provides the most highly detailed methodology for defining grapevine cultivars and more importantly, this can be extended to differentiating clones within those cultivars.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) are well-known biological control agents combined with specific adjuvants that now allow their use against aerial pests. Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is one of the major harmful pests detected in worldwide vineyards. Previous studies demonstrated that the EPNs Steinernema feltiae and S. carpocapsae could control L. botrana. The hypothesis was that the best combination of EPN-adjuvant/timing (season/temperatures) will support the use of EPN in the vineyard against L. botrana with no impact on the grape performance.