Addressing the effects of climate change on Mediterranean viticulture: genetic adaptation pathways

Abstract

Modern viticulture is threatened by the new context of global change. Prolonged and more severe droughts, together with substantial temperature increases, intensify water limitations for proper vineyard development and compromise the profitability and sustainability of grape growing. These conditions require solutions that mitigate their effects and innovations that help vineyards adapt to climate change. Two adaptation pathways are proposed: agronomic tools and decisions that improve vineyard water balance, and the selection of genotypes with greater water-use efficiency and a better response to the combined effects of drought and high temperatures. Within the second pathway, the role of the rootstock and its interaction with the scion may be decisive. This work seeks to clarify the physiological mechanisms that determine a vineyard’s ability to respond to climate change and provides information on the role of rootstocks in that response.

References

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