The world population is expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, which will require an increase in agricultural and food production by 70% to fit the need, a serious challenge for the agri-food industry. Such requirement, in a context of resources scarcity, climate change, COVID-19 pandemic, and very harsh socioeconomic conjecture, is difficult to fulfill without the intervention of computational tools and forecasting strategy. Hereby, we report the importance of artificial intelligence and machine learning as a predictive multidisciplinary approach integration to improve the food and agriculture sector, yet with some limitations that should be considered by stakeholders.

We have cloned and characterized VvNHX1, a gene encoding a vacuolar cation/H⁺ antiporter from Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon. VvNHX1 belongs to the vacuolar NHX protein family and showed high similarity to other known vacuolar antiporters. The expression of VvNHX1 partially complements the salt- and hygromycin-sensitive phenotypes of an ena1-4 nhx1 yeast strain. Immunoblots of vacuoles of yeast expressing a VvNHX1, together with the expression of a VvNHX1–GFP (green fluorescent protein) chimera demonstrated that VvNHX1 localized to the vacuoles. VvNHX1 displayed low affinity K⁺/H⁺ and Na⁺/H⁺ exchange activities (12.8 and 40.2 mM, respectively). The high levels of expression of VvNHX1 during the véraison and post-véraison stages would indicate that the increase in vacuolar K⁺ accumulation, mediated by VvNHX1, is needed for vacuolar expansion. This process, together with the rapid accumulation of reducing sugars, would drive water uptake to the berry and the concomitant berry size increase, typical of the post-véraison stage of growth.

The chemical composition of essential oils isolated by hydrodistillation from the needles of Tunisian Pinus nigra L. subsp. laricio was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. 27 compounds were identified, representing 97.9% of total oil, which was found to be rich in oxygenated diterpenes (38.5%) particularly manool oxide (38%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (41.4%) that included germacrene D (16.7%), δ-cadinene (9%) and (E)-caryophyllene (8.9%). Results of the herbicidal effects of the oil when tested on Phalaris canariensis L., Trifolium campestre Schreb. and Sinapis arvensis L., indicated that the oil completely inhibited germination and seedling growth at a high concentration (5 μL/mL−1), while at low doses the oil acted by decreasing germination and partially inhibiting seedling growth of all tested weeds

Copper-based fungicides have been widely used against several grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) diseases since the late 1800s when the Bordeaux mixture was developed, but their intensive use has raised phytotoxicity concerns. In this study, physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches were combined to investigate the impacts of copper in grape cells and how it is transported and compartmented intracellularly. Copper reduced the growth and viability of grape cells (CSB, Cabernet Sauvignon Berry) in a dose-dependent manner above 100 µM and was accumulated in specific metal ion sinks. The copper-sensitive probe Phen Green SK was used to characterize copper transport across the plasma membrane of CSB cells. The transport system (K_m = 583 µM; V_max = 177 × 10⁻⁶ %ΔF min⁻¹ protoplast⁻¹) was regulated by copper availability in the culture medium, stimulated by Ca²⁺ and inhibited by Zn²⁺. The pH-sensitive fluorescent probe ACMA (9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine) was used to evaluate the involvement of proton-dependent copper transport across the tonoplast. Cu²⁺ compartmentation in the vacuole was dependent on the transmembrane pH gradient generated by both V-H⁺-ATPase and V-H⁺-pyrophosphatase (PPase). High copper levels in the growth medium did not affect the activity of V-H⁺-PPase but decreased the magnitude of the H⁺ gradient generated by V-H⁺-ATPase. Expression studies of VvCTr genes showed that VvCTr1 and VvCTr8 were distinctly affected by CuSO₄ availability in grape cell cultures and that both genes were highly expressed in the green stage of grape berries.