Using image analysis for assessing downy mildew severity in grapevine

This article compares alcohol regulations across 22 Arab League member countries.

Just over 150 years ago, phylloxera, daktulosphaera vitifoliae, was introduced to europe, and particularly france, from north america via imports of american vitis plants. This aphid, with its complex biology and life cycle, has spread rapidly to most vineyards, causing rapid and lethal decline of v. Vinifera vines due to the primary and secondary damage it causes to the roots. In response to this pest, and given the economic importance of the french wine sector, professional representatives organised into ‘agricultural societies’, scientists and public authorities rallied together to identify the exact causes, seek solutions and try to stem the serious socio-economic crisis that ensued.

Must clarification is an important step occurring just after grape extraction in the elaboration of white wine, consisting in a solid-liquid separation. Traditionally, low must turbidity, around 50-150 NTU, is generally reached in white winemaking in order to prevent reductive aromas and facilitating alcoholic fermentation. Alternatively, a higher turbidity (300 NTU or above) can be sought for reasons such as a better expression of grapes identity (terroir), or for getting a must matrix that could supposedly lead to wines having greater ageing potential.

The above-ground parts of plants, which constitute the phyllosphere, have long been considered devoid of bacteria and fungi, at least in their internal tissues and microbial presence there was long considered a sign of disease. However, recent studies have shown that plants harbour complex bacterial communities, the so-called “microbiome”[1]. We are only beginning to unravel the origin of these bacterial plant inhabitants, their community structure and their roles, which in analogy to the gut microbiome, are likely to be of essential nature. Among their multifaceted metabolic possibilities, bacteria have been recently demonstrated to emit a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can greatly impact the growth and development of both the plant and its disease-causing agents.

Aim: Terroir is a French concept relating the qualities and quality of agricultural products to their physical and socio-cultural place of origin. It is increasingly used by business and policymakers as a marketing technique to provide economic benefits (e.g. Lenglet, 2014; Wine Australia, 2015), and to potentially preserve cultural heritage (e.g. Bauer, 2009) and the environment (e.g. Bowen, 2010)