terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Enhancing table grape production: addressing challenges and opportunities for sustainability and quality improvement

Enhancing table grape production: addressing challenges and opportunities for sustainability and quality improvement

Abstract

Table grapes, being consumed as fresh, raisins, and transformed products are among the most appreciated fruits worldwide. Its popularity is increasing also due to its organoleptic and nutritional qualities that meet the consumers’ interest in healthier foods. Recent data from International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) revealed that table grape production has doubled in the last twenty years, and varietal availability has increased thanks to the several breeding programs.

To maintain the socio-economic impact of this sector, new challenges need to be addressed. As for the entire agrifood sector, table grape production faces decreasing water availability, increasing temperatures, but also with fungal diseases, all consequences of climate change. Moreover, the need to align with new market trends is growing the interest of the researchers. In this context, new opportunities are emerging in the sector of ready-to-eat grapes with higher shelf-life, especially for major exporting countries such as Chile, Italy, and USA.  This area of the market is currently dominated with the production of raisins for snacks, while the possibility of allocating part of the grape production to fresh-cut markets is less explored. Strategies to improve postharvest performances, reduce fungi attacks and postharvest decay of existing or new table grapes varieties are essential in this latter context. 

Current literature and ongoing projects highlight the importance of developing strategies that combine breeding and sustainable management to cope with these new challenges and open new perspectives. Exploring the wide biodiversity and studying the physiological and molecular responses of different cultivars to identify involved genes is becoming fundamental to select new genotypes better adapted to the changed environment and consumers’ needs. Moreover, a faster improvement might be obtained by combining breeding with innovative and sustainable technologies in pre- and postharvest stages to increase resilience, quality, and shelf-life.

Download the abstract

DOI:

Publication date: June 14, 2024

Issue: Open GPB 2024

Type: Article

Authors

Maria Francesca Cardone1

1 Council for Agricultural Research and Economics – Research Center Viticulture and Enology (CREA-VE), Via Casamassima 148-70010 Turi (Ba), Italy

Contact the author*

Keywords

Table grape, quality and shelf-life, sustainability, postharvest, ready-to-eat

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Open GPB | Open GPB 2024

Citation

Related articles…

Quali cantine perle strade del vino

Tutte le cantine possono aprirsi al pubblico? Evidentemente si, nessuno può impedire ad un produttore di accogliere i turisti.
Tutte le cantine possono far parte delle Strade del vino? No, perché la Strada del vino mette in gioco la reputazione della denominazione di origine alla quale è legata e le possibilità di sviluppo economico di un intero territorio.

Read More

Influence of toasting oak wood on ellagitannin structures

Ellagitannins (ETs) have been reported to be the main phenolic compounds found in oak wood. These compounds, belonging to the hydrolysable tannin class of polyphenols, are esters of hexahydroxydiphenic acid (HHDP) and a polyol, usually glucose or quinic acid. They own their name to their capacity to be hydrolysed and liberate ellagic acid and they have an impact on astringency and bitterness sensation, which is strongly dependant on their structure. The toasting phase is particularly crucial in barrels fabrication and influences wood composition.

Read More

Searching for the sweet spot: a focus on wine dealcoholization

It is well known that the vinification of grapes at full maturation can produce rich, full-bodied wines,
with intense and complex flavour profiles. However, the juice obtained from such grapes may have very
high sugar concentration, resulting in wines with an excessive concentration of ethanol. In addition, the decoupling between technological maturity and phenolic/aromatic one due to global warming, exacerbates this problem in some wine-growing regions. In parallel with the increase of the mean alcohol content of wines on the market, also the demand for reduced alcohol beverages has increased in recent years, mainly as a result of health and social concerns about the risks related to the consumption of alcohol.

Read More

Impact of mycorrhizal inoculation of ‘Monastrell’ grapevines grafted onto different conventional vs. newly breed rootstocks 

Grafting Vitis vinifera L. (wine traditional cultivars) onto North American grapevine species or hybrids is a common practice in viticulture given their tolerance against phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae). However, rootstock genetic background affects the response of grapevines to environmental stresses and their ability for establishing a symbiotic relationship with the microbial communities, and more specifically with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).
The aim of this study was to evaluate Monastrell variety (clone ENTAV 369) grafted onto three rootstocks (140Ru, 110R and RG8) characterized by a different genetic background, in combination with AMF inoculation (Rhizophagus irregularis) vs. a non-inoculated control with regards to vegetative growth, leaf gas exchange parameters, and mycorrhization.

Read More

Polyphenol content examination of Tokaji Aszú wines

We must state that two conditions above are only prevalent in the case when the processed grapes are full or over ripened, besides following the Tokaj wines preparation criterions (grape variety, soil, microclimate, vintage, etc.). These two conditions mentioned before were followed up only sensory based analysis up to now, altough the study of chemical idetified compounds which confirms these are obviuos.

Read More