PulvéLab: an experimental vineyard for innovation in precision spraying

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by nearly all plant organs of the plants, including leaves. They play a key role in the communication with other organisms, therefore they are involved in plant defence against phytopathogens. In this study VOCs from grapevine leaves of two varieties of Vitis vinifera infected by Erysiphe necator were analysed. The varieties were selected based on their susceptibility to pathogen, Kishmish Vatkana has the Ren1 resistance gene and Zamarrica showed high susceptibility in previous trials.

Chitin is the main structural component of a large number of organisms (i.e., mollusks, insects, crustaceans, fungi, algae), and marine invertebrates including crabs and shrimps. The main derivative of chitin is chitosan (CH), produced by N-deacetylation of chitin in alkaline solutions. Over the past decade, the OIV/OENO 338A/ 2009 resolution approved the addition of allergen-free fungoid CH to must and wine as an adjuvant for microbiological control, prevention of haziness, metals chelation and ochratoxins removal (European Commission. 2011). Despite several studies on application of CH in winemaking, there are still very limited and controversial data on its interaction with acidic components in wine (Colan-gelo et al., 2018; Castro Marin et al., 2021).

In the context of climate change and the growing need to reduce the use of phytosanitary products, the exploration of disease-resistant grape varieties and/or adapted to drought conditions is becoming crucial for the wine industry in certain regions of France, such as Occitanie. Currently, exploring the oenological potential of varieties by analyzing their biochemical composition before and after winemaking comes rather late in the varietal selection process.

One of the major issues for wine production in Australia is the management and eradication of powdery and downy mildews and the associated yield losses they present, costing Australian grape growers upwards of AUD$160M per annum [1].

Methoxypyrazines (MPs) are readily extracted from grape berry and rachis during fermentation and can impart “green” and “herbaceous” sensory attributes to wine. Irrespective of whether MPs, including 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP), 3-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IPMP), and 3-sec-butyl-2-methoxypyrazine (SBMP), are extracted from berry or other vine material, techniques for remediation of wine with overpowering sensory characters attributable to MPs suffer from poor specificity or produce undesirable sensory outcomes, meaning that alternative control approaches are needed.