Neural networks and ft-ir spectroscopy for the discrimination of single varietal and blended wines. A preliminary study.

AIM: The refractive index is a basic optical property of materials and a key tool for the determination of major components in musts, such as sugars

Farming management practices aiming at conserving soil moisture have been developed in arid and semiarid-areas facing water scarcity problems. Organic mulching is an effective method to manipulate the crop-growing microclimate increasing crop yield by controlling soil temperature, and retaining soil moisture by reducing soil evaporation. In this sense, the effectiveness of different organic mulching materials (straw mulch and grapevine pruning debris) applied within the row of a vineyard was evaluated on the soil and on the vine in a Tempranillo vineyard located in La Rioja (Spain). Organic mulches were compared with a traditional bare soil management technique (based on the use of herbicides to avoid weed incidence). Mulching coverages favourably influenced the soil water retention throughout all the grapevine vegetative cycle. However, the soil-moisture variation was not the same under different mulching materials, being the straw mulch (SM) the one that retained more water in comparison with grapevine pruning debris (GPD) based-cover. The changes of soil moisture in the upper surface layer (0–10 cm) were highly dynamic, probably due to water vapour fluxes across the soil-atmospheric interface. However, both, SM and GPD reduced these fluctuations as compared with bare soils. A similar trend occurred with soil temperature. Both organic mulches altered soil temperature in comparison with bare soil by reducing soil temperature in summer and raising it in winter. Moreover, the same buffering effect for the temperature on the covered soil also remains in the deeper layers. To conclude, we could see that organic mulching had a positive impact on soil-moisture storage and soil temperature and the extent of this effect depends on the type of mulching materials. These changes led to higher rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductivity compared to bare soils, also favouring crop growth and grape yields.

Les enzymes d’oxydation (polyphénoloxydase, peroxydase) des raisins sont d’origine génétique dépendantes des facteurs climatiques et agrotechniques (Sapis et al, 1983). Dans le processus technologique de l’obtention du moût de raisins, ces enzymes catalysent l’oxydation de certains composés phénoliques naturellement présents dans le raisin, produisant ainsi des modifications indésirables de la couleur et de l’arôme du vin.

Aim: The aim of this project was to evaluate the microclimatic effects on objective measures of fruit quality within different vigour classes of multiple vineyards and to compare the results across the Lodi region of California, USA.

Increasing water scarcity and unpredictable rainfall patterns necessitate efficient water management in grape production. This study proposes a novel approach for monitoring grapevine water status in a commercial vertically-shoot-positioned Vitis vinifera L. Tempranillo vineyard using non-invasive spectroscopy with a battery of different AI methods to assess vineyard water status, that could drive precise irrigation. A contactless, miniature NIR spectrometer (900-1900 nm) mounted on a moving vehicle (3 Km/h) was employed to collect spectral data from the vines’ northeast side along six dates in season 2021.