The invasive seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae: an innovative plant protective extract

This study present a detailed analysis of the rainfall and temperature changes in the Penedès region in the period 1995/ 96 – 2008/09, in comparison with the trends observed during the last 50 years, and its implications on phenology and yield.

The Portuguese wine production is characterized by wide yield fluctuations, causing considerable implications in the economic performance of this sector. The possibility of predicting the yield in advance is crucial as it enables preliminary planning and management of the available resources. The present work aims to study and evaluate two different techniques for the assessment of vine fertility. vineyards.

Global climate change affects regional climates and hold implications for wine growing regions worldwide. Although winegrowers are constantly adapting to internal and external factors, it seems relevant to develop tools, which will allow them to better define actual and future agro-climatic potentials. Within this context, we develop a modelling approach, able to simulate the impact of environmental conditions and constraints on vine behaviour and to highlight potential adaptation strategies according to different climate change scenarios. Our modeling approach, named SEVE (Simulating Environmental impacts on Viticultural Ecosystems), provides a generic modeling framework for simulating grapevine growth and berry ripening under different conditions and constraints (slope, aspect, soil type, climate variability…) as well as production strategies and adaptation rules according to climate change scenarios. Each activity is represented by an autonomous agent able to react and adapt its reaction to the variability of environmental constraints. Using this model, we have recently analyzed the evolution of vineyards’ exposure to climatic risks (frost, pathogen risk, heat wave) and the adaptation strategies potentially implemented by the winegrowers. This approach, implemented for two climate change scenarios, has been initiated in France on traditional (Loire Valley) and emerging (Brittany) vineyards. The objective is to identify the time horizons of adaptations and new opportunities in these two regions. Carried out in collaboration with wine growers, this approach aims to better understand the variability of climate change impacts at local scale in the medium and long term.

A relevant trend in winemaking is to reduce the use of chemical compounds in both the vineyard and winery.

In recent studies, several grapevine trunk pathogen complexes have been identified from grapevines in South Africa. These pathogens include Eutypa lata, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, Phaeoacremonium sp., Botryosphaeria sp. and Phomopsis sp. Trunk diseases lead to reduced yield, and grape quality as well as a decline