Revisiting the effect of subsurface irrigation and partial rootzone drying on canopy size and yield of Cabernet Sauvignon using remote sensing techniques

Vineyards from mild temperature, high humidity locations receive often treatments with fungicides to prevent damages produced by fungi responsible for mildium, oidium and botrytis infections. In addition, insecticides are also applied to vineyards to fight again pests, which affect directly, or indirectly (as vectors of different diseases), their productivity. A fraction of the above compounds reaches the soil of vineyards, either during application, or when released from the canopy of vines due to rain-wash-off. Thereafter, depending on soil conditions (pH, organic matter) and environmental variables (regimen of rain, slope of vineyards), they might persist in this compartment, be degraded and/or transferred to water masses, modifying the biodiversity of soils and/or affecting the quality of water reservoirs.

Recent advances in phenomics and transcriptomics have the enhanced capacity for understanding how clonally propagated perennial crops like grapevines respond to their environments seasonally and over the course of multiple years. Because most grapevines are grafted, above-ground grapevine traits reflect scion genotype and its interaction with the local environment. In addition, traits expressed by the scion reflect rootstock genotype and how that rootstock is interacting with its environment seasonally and across years. To investigate rootstock x environment interaction on shoot systems in grafted grapevines we characterized comprehensive phenotypic variation in an experimental vineyard in Mount Vernon, Missouri, USA where the grapevine cultivar ‘Chambourcin’ is growing on its own roots and is grafted to three different rootstocks (‘1103P’, ‘3309C’, ‘SO4’).

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has rapidly gained an international reputation for style and quality. The extent to which this can be attributed to the climate, soils or vineyard management is at present unclear. However, the young alluvial soils of the Wairau Plains are considered to play an important role in determining this unique wine style. Marked changes in soil texture occur on the Wairau Plains over short distances.

Le monde vitivinicole est de plus en plus concerné par la question paysagère : l’enjeu est de taille puisqu’il s’agit de la survie de l’image positive dont bénéficient les Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée. Les paysages sont composés d’éléments qui renvoient à des références socioculturelles fortes, susceptibles de modeler l’image d’un produit et d’en déterminer à notoriété et le prix. Dans un monde médiatisé comme le nôtre, le visuel construit l’arrière-plan des représentations mentales associées à toute marchandise ; et pour les aliments, produits de la terre, ce visuel est forcément paysager.

Les approches du terroir en tant qu’entité géographique (zonages) connaissent un développement accru récent en lien avec l’essor des SIG. Les méthodes, les objectifs et les critères utilisés varient considérablement selon les études.