Application of plant growth regulators on Vitis vinifera L var. Mouchtaro affect berry quality characteristics & associated microbial communities

Pinot Blanc, an important grape variety grown in some mountain areas of Northern Italy such as South Tyrol over the last decades, with its cultivation covering 10.3% of the total vineyards, has compatible climatic conditions (e.g. heat requirements) which are normally found in the geographical areas of the mountain viticulture [1,2,3,4]. Climatic changes are hastening the growth of this variety at higher elevations, particularly for the production of high quality wine.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) are well-known biological control agents combined with specific adjuvants that now allow their use against aerial pests. Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is one of the major harmful pests detected in worldwide vineyards. Previous studies demonstrated that the EPNs Steinernema feltiae and S. carpocapsae could control L. botrana. The hypothesis was that the best combination of EPN-adjuvant/timing (season/temperatures) will support the use of EPN in the vineyard against L. botrana with no impact on the grape performance.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah are the top red wine cultivars in CA, however, the hot climate in Fresno is not ideal for red Vitis Vinifera, particularly for berry color development. Mechanical pruning and irrigation were studied previously to significantly affect grapevine yield performance and berry quality. But there is lack of studies on cordon height and irrigation on mechanical pruned vineyard system.

Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) has long been a ratio to quantify relative plant water status in several crop and woody plants. Given its rather well relationship to either leaf or stem water potential and the feasibility to sample big vineyard areas as well as to collect quite a huge quantity of data with airborne cameras and image processing applications, it is being studied as a tool for irrigation monitoring in commercial vineyards. The objective of this paper was to know if CWSI estimated by measuring leaf temperature with an infrared hand held camera could be used to substitute the measure of stem water potential (SWP) without losing accuracy of plant water status measure.

Soil is a three-dimensional complex system, which constitutes a major component of Terroir. Soil characteristics strongly influence vine development, grape oenological potentialities and thus wine quality and style.