PIWIs’ variation in drought response under semi-controlled conditions 

Worldwide, with an average of 6.7 million cultivated hectares, of which exclusively 51% in Europe (faostat, 2021), the production of table and wine grapes is a leading sector, with continued growth in Europe in the area devoted to vine cultivation. during the growing season, most of the plant organs can be susceptible to several fungal and oomycete diseases, leading to important economic losses and causing detrimental effects on fruit quality. the increasingly scarce availability of fungicidal products, often also related to their relative impact on the environment, coupled with the emergence of resistance in the pathogen to these products, make defence increasingly challenging.

In the context of climate change, water availability, together with rising temperatures, is one of the main factors driving the relocation of viticulture to new regions.

An organoleptic defect, called fresh mushrooms off-flavor (FMOff), appeared in wines and spirits since the 2000’s. Numerous researches demonstrated that octen-3-one, 3-octanol and octen-3-ol (C8 compounds) were involved in the mushroom off-flavor in wines

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) has been cultivated in the territory of Armenia for millennia and remains a national symbol and a key fruit crop.

Genetic diversity within grapevine cultivars is a fundamental resource for varietal improvement and adaptation to cultivation requirements.