Understanding the genetic determinism of phenological and quality traits in ‘Corvina’ grape variety for selection of improved genotypes

Protein haze in white wines is a major technological and economic problem of the wine industry. Field tests were carried out in steep slope vineyards planted with Riesling grapes over 3 dry growing seasons to study the effect of drought stress on the concentration of proteins in the resulting wines. Plots suffering from drought stress were compared with surrounding drip irrigated plots. Riesling grapes were processed into wines by conventional procedures. Protein amounts of the isolated wine colloids of the stressed samples were always higher than those of the watered samples(mean watered 13.8 ± 0.44, mean stressed 17.4 ± 0.40 g 100 g-1). As a consequence, higher bentonite doses were needed to achieve protein haze stability of the drought stressed treatments.

Developing technologies that help vines survive and produce in quantity and quality within current times is mandatory. In this sense, in the 2021/2022 agricultural harvest, the influence of the foliar application of seaweed – Laminaria japonica was studied, aiming at productivity and quality of the must in the ‘Merlot’ grape. In the city of “Santana do Livramento”, “Rio Grande do Sul” (RS), Brazil; in a 15-year-old commercial vineyard of ‘Merlot’ clone ENTAV-INRA® 347, grafted onto ‘SO4’ rootstock, the following treatments were applied on 6 occasions: No treatment (control) and; Foliar application of Laminaria japonica seaweed (commercial product: Exal (ALAS), 2 kg ha-1).

The Mediterranean basin is one of the most vulnerable regions to Climate Change effects. According to unanimous forecasts, the vineyards of Castilla-La Mancha will be among the most adversely affected by rising temperatures and water scarcity during the vine’s vegetative period. One potential strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of these changes involves the identification of grapevine varieties with superior water use efficiency, while ensuring satisfactory yields and grape quality.

Grape downy mildew, caused by plasmopara viticola, is one of the main diseases affecting viticulture worldwide and its control usually relies on frequent sprays with agrochemicals. Grapevine varieties resistant to p. Viticola represent an effective solution to control downy mildew and reduce the environmental impact of viticulture. Loci of resistance to p. Viticola (Rpv) have been introgressed from wild vitis species and some of them, like Rpv1, Rpv3.1 and Rpv10, are currently the most utilized genetic resources in grape breeding.

AIM: Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a non-allergenic pseudocereal with a high protein content