Water availability at budbreak time in vineyards that are deficitary irrigated during the summer: Effect on must volatile composition

In a context of sustainable agriculture, “agroecological immunity” is an emerging concept to reduce the use of chemical pesticides to protect crops against pathogens. This alternative strategy aims to combine different levers including the use of “bio”solutions. These include biocontrol products, some of which being plant defense elicitors, as well as products authorized in organic farming such as copper or sulfur. In vineyards, depending on climate conditions, powdery and downy mildews can be devastating diseases.

The European wine industry is facing multiple challenges derived from climate change and the pressure of different fungal diseases that are compromising the production of traditional varieties. A sustainable alternative maybe the adoption of resistant varieties.
In this study, we have evaluated the enological potential of 9 resistant varieties (5 white and 4 red varieties) in La Rioja. Microvinifications were carried out with three biological replications. Oenological parameters were very diverse with acid content varying from 2.6 g/L to 6.6 g/L.

Vines are exposed to environmental conditions that cause abiotic stress on the plants (drought, nutrient and mineral deficits, salinity, etc.). Polyamines are growth regulators involved in various physiological processes, as in abiotic plant stress responses. Stressful conditions can modify grape’s composition, and in this work, we have focused on studying the effect of abiotic stress on the composition of polyamines and amino acids in grapes. In addition, the effect of grape variety on these compounds has been studied.

Given that climate change is a continuous process, it is necessary to constantly search for new strategies that help the viticulturist sector to mitigate its consequences. All adaptation strategies will have a greater or lesser effect that in turn will be marked by the times of action. As a long-term action, a genetic breeding program to obtain new varieties descendant from Monastrell has been developed in the Region of Murcia (more specifically, in the IMIDA Research Center) since 1997. In this program, new red varieties have been developed through directed crosses of the Monastrell variety with other varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Syrah.

Crops are facing increasing biotic and abiotic stress pressures due to global changes. However, trade-off mechanisms between these stresses and the underlying physiological processes are still poorly understood, especially in perennial crop species. To better understand these trade-offs, we studied the effect of drought on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) physiology and esca-related wood fungal communities. Esca is a vascular disease caused by a community of wood-infecting pathogenic fungi, and characterized by trunk necrosis, leaf scorch symptoms, yield losses, and mortality.