Application of DEXI PM Vigne sustainability tool to the assessment of alternative vineyard protection strategies

Global warming is accelerating the technological ripening of the grape, with a loss of acidity, which requires that vineyard management can delay ripening to avoid it. The source-sink relation is essential for grape ripening, since it affects the distribution of photosynthates and substances derived from plant metabolism. A work is proposed to know the response of the vineyard to the drastic reduction of the foliar surface by trim down the shoots in cv.

The irrigation water management in the vineyard is a crucial aspect to obtain sustainable quality production over time. Previous studies have set the water requirements to be applied in the vineyard at 30 % of the reference evapotranspiration (ET0), although there are no studies that settle the effects of the frequency of irrigation application on red varieties in Spain. The present study contemplates the application of deficit irrigation (30 % ET0) applying a weekly dose in a single irrigation (T07) or in two irrigation events (T03) per week. The study has been carried out in 2021-2022 with four red varieties in different Spanish wine regions: Garnacha Tinta (Badajoz), Tempranillo (Valladolid), Syrah (Albacete) and Mencía (Lugo). The effects of irrigation frequency on must volatile composition have been evaluated through GC-MS.

The interest in sustainable and ecologic agricultural practices in grapevine has grown significantly in recent years in the context of ecological transition. Organic mulches are treatments that support the circular economy and positively affect the soil and the plant. They are an alternative to herbicides and other conventional practices since they may influence soil moisture, erosion, structure and weed control. However, their effects on the soil and must microbiota remain unknown.

Deleterious mutations that severely reduce population fitness are rapidly removed from the gene pool by purifying selection. However, evolutionary drivers such as genetic drift brought about by demographic bottlenecks may comprise its efficacy by allowing deleterious mutations to accumulate, thereby limiting the adaptive potential of populations. Moreover, positive selection can hitchhike mildly deleterious mutations due to linkage caused by lack of recombination. Similarly, in the context of species domestication, artificial selection mimics these evolutionary processes, which can have undesirable consequences for production and resilience. In this study, we evaluated the extent of the accumulation of deleterious mutations and the magnitude of their effects (also known as genetic load) at the whole-genome scale for ca.

Calcium (Ca) is an important nutrient for plants which plays key signaling and structural roles. It has been observed that exogenous Ca application favors the pectin accumulation and inhibition of polygalacturonase enzymes, minimizing fruit spoilage. Silicon (Si) is a non-essential element which has been found to be beneficial for improving crop yield and quality, as well as plant tolerance to diverse abiotic and biotic stress factors. The effect of Si supply to grapevine has been assessed in few investigations, which reported positive changes in grape quality and must composition.