Geopedological and climatic zoning of northern Malaga vineyards region: Fuente de Piedra, Humilladero and Mollina (southern Spain)

Flavescence dorée, a serious threat to grapevine cultivation in several European Countries, is caused by phytoplasmas in the 16Sr-V ribosomal group, classified as quarantine organisms in the EU and transmitted mainly by the insect vector Scaphoideus titanus. The disease is controlled only by indirect and preventive measures, with important economic and environmental concerns. Genetic resources from the great variety of Vitis vinifera germplasm together with application of new genomic techniques could be applied to produce resistant/tolerant plants, once the genetic bases of susceptibility are elucidated. In a current Italian project (BIORES*) we are evaluating different international and local grapevine cvs. as well as microvine plants for their response to FD transmission and multiplication in controlled conditions.

Table grape consumption worldwide has experienced a remarkable growth in the first two decades of the 21st century, becoming the third most consumed fresh fruit in some countries, after bananas and apples. This increase has been attributed to several reasons, including the availability of seedless grapes, which has been a key factor in the increase in consumption.

Grapevine is grown as a graft since the end of the 19th century. Rootstocks not only provide tolerance to Phylloxera but also ensure the supply of water and mineral nutrients to the scion. Rootstocks are an important mean of adaptation to environmental conditions, because the scion controls the typical features of the grapes and wine. However, among the large diversity of rootstocks worldwide, few of them are commercially used in the vineyard. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which rootstocks modify the mineral composition of the petioles of the scion. Vitis vinifera cvs. Cabernet-Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Syrah and Ugni blanc were grafted onto 55 different rootstock genotypes and planted in a vineyard as three replicates of 5 vines. Petioles were collected in the cluster zone with 6 replicates per combination. Petiolar concentrations of 13 mineral elements (N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca, Na, B, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu, Al) at veraison were determined. Scion, rootstock and the interaction explained the same proportion of the phenotypic variance for most mineral elements. Rootstock genotype showed a significant influence on the petiole mineral element composition. Rootstock effect explained from 7 % for Cu to 25 % for S of the variance. The difference of rootstock conferred mineral status is discussed in relation to vigor and fertility. Rootstocks were also genotyped with 23 microsatellite markers. Data were analysed according to genetic groups in order to determine whether the petiole mineral composition could be related to the genetic parentage of the rootstock. Thanks to a highly powerful design, it is the first time that such a large panel of rootstocks grafted with 4 scions has been studied. These results give the opportunity to better characterize the rootstocks and to enlarge the diversity used in the vineyard.

This study presents an investigation based on sensory analysis data of Spanish wines with geographical indications collected over a three-year period. Sensory analysis plays a crucial role in assessing the quality, characteristics, and perception of wines. The trained tasting panel at Dolmar Laboratory, accredited for objective sensory evaluation of wines since 2016, has been tasting over 5000 wines. However, it is since 2021, when a computer application for tastings was developed, that the digitalization of data allows for detailed statistical analysis of the results.

The application of sensors in viticulture is a fast and efficient method to monitor grapevine vegetative, yield and quality parameters and determine their spatial intra-vineyard variability. Molecular analysis at the gene expression level can further contribute to the understanding of the observed variability by elucidating how pathways responsible for different grape quality traits behave in zones diverging for one or the other parameter. The intra-vineyard variability of a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard was evaluated by a standard Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) mapping approach, employing UAV platform, accompanied by detailed ground-truthing (e.g. vegetative, yield, and berry ripening compositional parameters) that was applied in 14 spots in the vineyard. Berries from different spots were additionally investigated by microarray gene expression analysis, performed at five time points from fruit set to full ripening.