Exogenous dsRNA applications to identify novel candidate susceptibility genes to downy mildew

Global warming is one of the biggest environmental, social, and economic threats. In the Douro Valley, change to the climate are expected in the coming years, namely an increase in average temperature and a decrease in annual precipitation. Since vine cultivation is extremely vulnerable and influenced by the climate, these changes are likely to have negative effects on the production and quality of wine.
Adaptation is a major challenge facing the viticulture sector where the choice of plant material plays an important role, particularly the rootstock as it is a driver for adaptation with a wide range of effects, the most important being phylloxera, nematode and salt, tolerance to drought and a complex set of interactions in the grafted plant.
In an experimental vineyard, established in the Douro Region in 1997, with four randomized blocs, with five varieties, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz, grafted in four rootstocks, Rupestris du Lot, R110, 196-17C, R99 and 1103P, data was collected consecutively over 20 years (2001-2020). Phenological observations were made two to three times a week, following established criteria, to determine the average dates of budbreak, flowering and veraison. During maturation, weekly berry samples were taken to study the dynamics of sugar accumulation, amongst other parameters. Climate data was collected from a weather station located near the vineyard parcel, with data classified through several climatic indices.
The results achieved show a very low coefficient of variations in the average date of the phenophases and an important contribution from the rootstock in the dynamic of the phenology, allowing a delay in the cycle of up to10-12 days for the different combinations. The Principal Component Analysis performed, evaluating trends in the physical-chemical parameters, highlighted the effect of the climate and rootstock on fruit quality by grape varieties.

Concepts such as typicality are difficult to demonstrate using the limited set of samples that can be subjected to sensory evaluation. This is due both to the complexity of the concept and to the limitations of traditional sensory evaluation (number of samples per session, panel fatigue, the need for multiple sessions and methods, etc.). On the other hand, there is a large amount of data already available, accumulated through many years of consistent evaluation. These data are held in repositories (such as Platter’s Wine Guide in the case of South Africa Wine, wineonaplatter.com) and in technical notes provided by the producers.

the phenological evolution is a crucial aspect of grapevine growth and development. Accurate detection of phenological stages can improve vineyard management, leading to better crop yield and quality traits. However, traditional methods of phenological tracking such as on-site observations are time-consuming and labour-intensive. This work proposes a scalable data-driven method to automatically detect key phenological stages of grapevines using satellite data. Our approach applies to vast areas because it solely relies on open and satellite data having global coverage without requiring any in-field data from weather stations or other sensors making the approach extensible to other areas.

Context and purpose of the study. The breeding of PIWI varieties has a long tradition in the Czech Republic. In the last two years, 9 new PIWI varieties have been registered.

Context and purpose of the study. Sparkling wine production is majorly impacted by climate change as sugar accumulation and aromatic development in grapes are often decoupled.