The XIVth International Symposium on Grapevine Breeding and Genetics is held in Zagreb (Croatia) from June 28 to July 2, 2026.
The event is organised by the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb in collaboration with Institute for Adriatic Crops and Karst Reclamation Split, Institute of Agriculture and Tourism Poreč, Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek.
The value that perennial crop improvement can offer is constrained by the lag between when growers define a problem and when genetic solutions reach the vineyard.
Conserving and exploiting intra-varietal diversity in ancient grapevine varieties is essential to secure their future use whilst preserving the genetic heritage of historical winegrowing regions.
Water scarcity is an increasing constraint for viticulture in Mediterranean regions, making the identification of molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance a key objective for grapevine breeding and management.
Achieving disease resistance in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) without compromising plant growth is a significant challenge for viticulture. Astrategy to reduce susceptibility to Downy Mildew (DM) is through dual inactivation of the salicylic acid (SA) hydroxylases VviDMR6-1 and VviDMR6-2 by gene editing, which leads to elevated endogenous SAlevels and enhanced immunity.
Grapevine is a globally significant crop whose productivity is constantly threatened by fungal and oomycete diseases.
Climate change is predicted to alter the water availability where grapevine is cultivated, potentially impacting grape yield and quality [1].
Rapid climate changes and increasing biotic pressures compromise grapevine production systems by threatening grape quality and production yields, thus increasing phytochemical dependence as a widely adopted mitigation strategy.
Water availability constraints are becoming a defining factor in Mediterranean viticulture, which requires a deeper understanding of cultivar-specific adaptive mechanisms to sustain yield and fruit quality.
Epigenetics refers to the layer of genetic information carried in chromatin beyond the DNAsequence, including histone modifications, DNAmethylation and small RNAs.
The increasing occurrence of drought events poses a major challenge for viticulture, as water deficit negatively affects vine yield and berry quality.