Implications of the nature of organic mulches used in vineyards on grapevine water status, yield, berry quality and biological soil health  

Several studies have tried to develop different methods to study the photodegradation of wine in an accelerated way, trying to elucidate the effect of light on the wine compounds[1]. In a previous study, our team developed a chamber that speeds up the photodegradation of rosé wine[2]. In the present work we have tried to establish a correlation between irradiation times in accelerated conditions and the natural exposure to the cycles of light that usually exist in markets or at home.

Plant roots fulfil important functions as they are responsible for the acquisition of water and nutrients, for anchorage and stability, for interaction with symbionts and, in some cases, for the storage of carbohydrates. These functions are associated with the Root System Architecture (RSA, i.e. the form and the spatial arrangement of the roots in the soil). The RSA results from several biological processes (elongation, ramification, mortality…) genetically determined but with high structural plasticity.

The use of cover crops under the vines might be an alternative to the use of herbicides or tillage, improving grapevine quality and soil characteristics. The aim of this research was to study the implications of different management strategies of the soil under the vines (herbicide, cultivation or cover crops) on grapevine growth, water and nutritional status, gas exchange parameters and belowground microbial communities.
The experimental design consisted in 4 treatments applied on 35L-potted Tempranillo vegetative grapevines with 10 replicates each grown in an open-top greenhouse in 2022 and 2023. Treatments included two cover crop species (Trifolium fragiferum and Bromus repens), herbicide (glyphosate al 36%) and an untreated control.

Water availability is the most limiting factor for vineyard productivity under Mediterranean conditions. Due to the effects caused by the current climate change, wine-growing regions may face serious soil moisture conservation problems, due to the lower water retention capacity of the soil and higher soil irradiation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil recharge irrigation in pre-sprouting and summer irrigation every week (30 % ETo) from the pea size state until the end of ripening (RP) compared to exclusively summer irrigation every week (R) in the same way that RP, on berry phenolic composition at harvest.

Light is a fundamental part at sales points which influences in the conservation of wines, particularly in those that are sold in transparent glass bottles such as rosé wines and increasingly white wines. The photochemical effect known as “light-struck taste” can cause changes in the aromatic characteristics of the wine. This “light-struck taste” is due to reactions triggered by the photochemical sensitivity of riboflavin (RBF).