Improving shelf life of viticulture-relevant biocontrol and biostimulant microbes using CITROFOL® AI as liquid carrier

Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen that causes one of the most serious diseases of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera), grey mold or Botrytis bunch rot. In Champagne, the Botrytis cinerea disease leads to considerable economic losses for winemakers and wines exhibit organoleptic defaults.

Grapevine varieties from South-America, commonly known as criollas, originated because of the natural crossbreeding of grapevine varieties brought by the Spaniards. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of some varieties to produce sparkling wines considering the effect of lees contact time. The following varieties were used: Moscatel Rosado, Criolla Chica, Pedro Gimenez, Blanca Oval, Canelón, and the European variety Chardonnay (control), planted in the ampelographic collection of EEA Mendoza INTA (Argentina). Pilot-scale vinifications were carried out to obtain the base wines, in 20 L glass containers. The second fermentation was performed through the traditional method.

This issue poses two questions: the relationship between beauty and taste (is landscape quality an index of wine quality ?), and the gap or the conformity between our image of the “terroir” and the visible reality. The landscape is both an object and a representation.

Nitrogen (N2) is critical in grape berries, especially in organic wine making. After intake, N2 follows various metabolic and allocation routes and, from veraison, partly reallocates into berries. Water deficit affects the N2 nutrition due to a poor diffusion in soil solution and vascular mobilisation. Also, affects photosynthesis and the energy needed for metabolism, whose extent would depend on the stomatal sensitivity of the plant. We have assessed the effect of a moderate water deficit from pea size, in 3 years old field grown potted plants of Chardonnay (CH) and Cabernet Sauvignon (CS), differing in stomatal sensitivity, on the N2 status of plant parts. Water deficit reduced photosynthesis, leaf area and fresh and dry plant mass along the season, but up to a higher extent in CS.

A seven years survey (2003 to 2009) has been carried out over old traditional vineyards cv. Cencibel in La Mancha region (Spain). Seven plots with more than 35 years old were sampled from veraison to harvest, measuring soluble solids (ºBaumé) and acid concentration (g/l in tartaric acid).