Molecular characterization of a variegated grapevine mutant cv Bruce’s Sport

The use of new fungus disease-tolerant varieties is a promising long-term solution to better manage chemical input in viticulture, but unfortunately little is known regarding these new hybrids fruit development and metabolites accumulation in front of abiotic stresses such as water deficit (WD). Thus, prior to the adoption of such varieties by the wine industry in Mediterranean regions, there is a need to consider their suitability to WD.

The phenomenon of quercetin precipitation in wine (flanovol haze), has been manifested for many years in several wine-producing regions

The species and origin used for red wine oak aging determines the physiological composition of the wood and thus the finished wines. In America, oak is grown primarily

Grape canes are a non-recycled byproduct of wine industry (1-5 tons per hectare per year) containing valuable phytochemicals of medicine and agronomical interest. Resveratrol and wine polyphenols are known to exert a plethora of health-promoting effects including antioxidant capacity, cardioprotection, anticancer activity, anti-inflammatory effects, and estrogenic/antiestrogenic properties (Guerrero et al. 2009). Additionally, resveratrol is a major phytoalexin produced by plants in response to various stresses and promotes disease resistance (Chang et al. 2011). Our project aims to develop polyphenol-rich grape cane extracts to fight phytopathogenic or clinically relevant fungi. We initiate the project with the development of analytical methods to analyze resveratrol mono- and oligomers (dimers, trimers and tetramers) from grape canes and we evaluate their potential activity against clinically relevant opportunistic fungal pathogens (Houillé et al. 2014).

The honeydew moth Cryptoblabes gnidiella is the main problem for the wineries in the Northeast of the Brazil, because it attacks the bunch and reduces the quality of the grapes and the wines. In order to stretch out the bunch to facilitate the penetration of the insecticides, it was used gibberellic acid. Six treatments with different concentrations and different dates of application, and the control were compared.