Application of nitrogen forms such as nitrate, urea, and amino acids effects on leaf and berry physiology and wine quality

AIM: Cross-over applications are an emerging technological approach in food microbiology where a microorganism from one traditional specific fermentation process is used to improve quality and safety in another agri-food production/chain (Dank et al., 2021). A complex microbial diversity is found in association with fermentation in wine, including Saccharomyces, non-Saccharomyces and malolactic bacteria,  all microorganisms versatile in terms of enological utilisation (Tempère et al., 2018). Here, we propose a systematic literature review highlighting the existing trends and possible future applications related to cross-over exploitation of wine-related microbiota. 

Rootstocks are used in vineyards worldwide and have been the focus of many studies. However, rootstock performance varies based on regional climates and soil types. As Oregon experiences warmer seasons and variable precipitation patterns, growers are interested in rootstocks with more drought tolerance than the commonly planted rootstocks: 3309C, Riparia Gloire, and 101-14 Mgt. In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, annual precipitation is typically sufficient to make dry-farming possible and use of irrigation is limited.

On the market there are several wine grapes which are tolerant to the main fungal diseases. These varieties, commonly defined “resistant”, were developed in the grapevine breeding programs carried out mainly in Germany, France, Hungary and Italy. Some of these cultivars have been included in the national catalogues of wine grape varieties and have sometimes been allowed for specific kinds of wine. The VEVIR project, aimed at the enological evaluation of resistant vines, involves 33 cultivars achieved at the State Institute for Viticulture Freiburg in Germany, the Research Institute of Viticulture and Enology Pecs in Hungary and the Fondazione Edmund Mach S. Michele all’Adige (FEM) in Italy.

Climate change has a strong impact on the earlier onset of important phenological stages and plant development in viticulture.

Grapevines are useful model plants for research on the physiology of water stress responses. Variable responses at the stomatal level have been described in different varieties with implications on the hydraulic conductance of the plant and eventually impacts on the tension imposed to the xylem architecture, depending on xylem properties. In order to assess possible associations between stomatal responses (gs) to evaporative demand (VPD), water potentials at the root to leaf gradient, plant hydraulics and xylem morphoanatomical traits, a two-season research study has been conducted in Cabernet Sauvignon (CS), Carmenere (C) and Syrah (S) in the field, under mild water stress (MWS) and well watered (WW) conditions.