How sensor technologies combined with artificial intelligence increase the efficiency in grapevine breeding (research): current developments and future perspectives

From the effect of global climate change, wildfire occurrence during grape ripening has increased. These wildfires produce smoke that can carry organic compounds to a vineyard. These smoke compounds are adsorbed in the grape berry and result in wines with elevated levels of smoke-related phenols. These wines are described as having a smokey, burnt, and dirty aroma (Kristic et al, 2015). Not only are volatile phenols carried by smoke, but additionally glycoconjugate forms of these phenols are present as will. These have been found to have a large impact on the flavor of wines, being the cause of a lasting ashy aftertaste post consumption (Parker et al, 2012). When evaluating the sensory profile of these wines when tasted one after the other, there is an observed problem due to the lasting nature of these undesirable attributes and high level of carry-over from sample to sample. The aim of this work is to evaluate the extent this carryover occurs, along with the best sensory practices to mitigate its influence via different inter-stimulus rinse protocols.

Our research aimed to determine the effect and efficiency of foliar application of urea on the phenolic composition of Tempranillo Blanco grapes. The field experiment was carried out in 2019 and 2020 seasons and the plot was located in D.O.Ca Rioja (North of Spain). The vineyard was Vitis vinifera L. Tempranillo Blanco and grafted on Richter-110 rootstock. The treatments were control (C), whose plants were sprayed with water and three doses of urea: plants were sprayed with urea 3 kg N/ha (U3), 6 kg N/ha (U6) and 9 kg N/ha (U9). The applications were performed in two phenological stages, pre-veraison (Pre) and veraison (Ver). Also, each of the treatments was repeated one week later. Control and treatments were performed in triplicate and arranged in a randomised block design. Grapes were harvested at optimum ripening stage. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to analyse the phenolic composition of the grapes. Finally, the results obtained from the analytical determinations – flavonols, flavanols and non-flavonoid (hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids and stilbenes) – were studied statistically by analysis of variance. The results showed that, in 2019, U6-Pre and U9-Pre treatments increased the hydroxybenzoic acid content in grapes, and also all foliar treatments applied at Pre enhanced the stilbene concentration. Moreover, U3-Ver was the only treatment that rose flavonol and stilbene contents in the Tempranillo Blanco grapes. In 2020, all treatments applied at Pre enhanced the flavonol concentration in grapes. Furthermore, U3-Pre and U9-Pre treatments increased stilbene content in grapes. Nevertheless, the hydroxybenzoic acid content was improved by U6-Ver and U9-Ver and besides, hydroxycinnamic acid concentration in grapes was increased by all treatments applied at Ver. In conclusion, the lower and highest dose of urea (U3 and U9), applied at pre-veraison, were the best treatments to improve the Tempranillo Blanco grape phenolic composition.

Climate change presents increasing challenges to viticulture, particularly with rising water stress contributing significantly to yield losses and damages. The identification of the MYB60 transcription factor, which regulates stomatal opening and closing in Arabidopsis thaliana and Vitis vinifera, offers potential solutions. Notably, knockout studies in Arabidopsis have shown reduced stomatal opening and increased drought tolerance in myb60 mutants. Additionally, the grapevine ortholog, VviMYB60, can restore the wild-type phenotype of Arabidopsis myb60 mutants. Further investigation of the Arabidopsis promoter region has revealed that mutations in DOF motifs lead to reduced expression of AtMYB60.

La région viticole de Mendoza est la principale zone vitivinicole d’Argentine qui se compose de 3 oasis (Nord, Valle de Uco, Sud). La première zone vitivinicole, située dans l’oasis Nord, est composée par les département de Luján de Cuyo et Maipu. C’est la zone de production la plus ancienne et la plus reconnue pour la qualité de sa production. Ce travail se porte plus particulièrement sur le département de Luján de Cuyo qui constitue le lieu traditionnel de production du Malbec argertin. Ce travail propose de caractériser les terroirs et de mettre en avant leurs typicités.

In the pursuit of increasing sustainability, climate change resiliency and independence of synthetic pesticides in agriculture, the interest of consumers and producers in organic and biodynamic farming is steadily increasing. This is in particular the case for the vitivinicultural industry in Europe, where more and more producers are converting from organic to biodynamic farming. However, clear scientific evidence showing that biodynamic farming improves vine physiology, vine stress resilience, berry or wine quality, or is more sustainable for the environment is still lacking although this issue has been addressed by several research teams worldwide.