The effect of ecological conditions on the germination of pollen, fecundation and yield of some grapevine cultivars in Skopje region, Republic of Macedonia

Nowadays, winemaking is dealing with great challenges, notably climate change, disease resistance and low pesticide inputs, desire for more sustainable agricultural productions and permanent changing of consumer preference.

Weather uncertainty is forcing Mediterranean winegrowers to adopt new irrigation strategies to cope with water scarcity while ensuring a sustainable yield and improved berry and wine quality standards. Therefore, more accurate and high-resolution monitoring of soil water content and vine water status is a major concern. Leaf water potential measured at pre-dawn (PD) is considered to be in equilibrium with soil water potential and is highly correlated with soil water content at the soil depth where roots extract water.

Knowledge has been accumulated on the impact of microclimate, in particular berry temperature and irradiation, for a wide range of red varieties. However, little research has been dedicated on the effects of the same factors on the quality of white grape varieties.

The diversity of soil types in the Western Cape of South Africa leads to high levels of within-vineyard variability. Multispectral remote sensing has received a lot of attention recently in the South-African wine industry in an attempt to identify and deal with this variability.

Grapevine grafting is a complex process that since the establishment of phylloxera has become mandatory for grapevine. Grafting success in grapevine nurseries considerably varies among years and batches with most variety/rootstock combinations reach a high success rate (between 75% and 90%), but some combinations show lower success rates of around 40-50%. The causes of this variation are unknown, although biotic stresses like those caused by some viral infections have been demonstrated to affect the process. European certification schemes for the vegetative propagation of the vine include five major viruses (Arabis mosaic virus, Grapevine Fanleaf Virus, Grapevine Fleck Virus, and Grapevine-associated Leafroll Virus 1 and 3).