Organic mulches improve vine vigour, yield and physiological response in a semi-arid region

Nitrogen fertilisation of grapevines is known to influence not only plant development and production yield, but also yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). This parameter is related to the growth of yeast

The decision for grape berries to ripen involves a complex interplay of genetic regulation and environmental cues. This review explores the molecular mechanisms underlying the transition from vegetative growth to ripening, focusing on transcriptomic studies and the role of the NAC gene family. Transcriptomic analyses reveal a significant rearrangement of gene expression patterns during this transition, with up-regulation of ripening-related genes and down-regulation of those associated with vegetative growth. A molecular phenology scale providing a high-precision map of berry transcriptomic development, indicates that key molecular changes occur well before the onset of ripening.

The pinking is a phenomenon that can occur in white wine produced with white grape causing the color change from yellow to red-salmon hue. Even if its appearance is highly variable and dependent to the vintage, the wines from certain grape varieties, such as Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Trebbiano di Lugana, have been identified to be more susceptible to the pinking.

The evaluation of new grapevine genotypes regarding their potential to produce high quality wines is the time limiting factor in the process of grapevine breeding. Hence, the development of quality-related markers useable in marker-assisted selection (MAS) as well as in prediction models for this bottleneck trait will tremendously enhance breeding efficiency. In extensive studies a training set of a segregating white wine F1 population (150 F1 genotypes = POP150; `Calardis Musqué´ x `Villard Blanc´) was deeply phenotyped and genotyped for model development and QTL analysis.

Atmospheric CO2 levels have been rising continuously since the industrial revolution, affecting crop physiology, yield and quality of harvest products, and grapevine is no exception [1]. Most of previously reported studies used potted plants in controlled environments, and explored grapevine response to relatively high CO2 levels, 700 ppm or more. The vineyardFACE, established in Geisenheim in 2012, uses a free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) system to simulate a moderate (ambient +20%) increase in atmospheric CO2 in a vineyard planted with cvs. Cabernet-Sauvignon and Riesling grafted on rootstock 161-49 Couderc and SO4, respectively.