In many viticulture regions, multiple summer stresses are occurring with increased frequency and severity because of warming trends. Kaolin-based particle film technology is a technique that can mitigate the negative effects of intense and/or prolonged drought on grapevine physiology. Although a primary mechanism of action of kaolin is the increase of radiation reflection, some indirect effects are the protection of canopy functionality and faster stress recovery by abscisic acid (ABA) regulation. The physiological mechanism underlying the kaolin regulation of canopy functionality under water deficit is still poorly understood. In a dry-down experiment carried out on grapevines, at the peak of stress and when control vines zeroed whole-canopy net CO₂ exchange rates/leaf area (NCER/LA), kaolin-treated vines maintained positive NCER/LA (~2 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and canopy transpiration (E) (0.57 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹). Kaolin-coated leaves had a higher violaxanthin (Vx) + antheraxanthin (Ax) + zeaxanthin (Zx) pool and a significantly lower neoxanthin (Nx) content (VAZ) when water deficit became severe. At the peak of water shortage, leaf ABA suddenly increased by 4-fold in control vines, whereas in kaolin-coated leaves the variation of ABA content was limited. Overall, kaolin prevented the biosynthesis of ABA by avoiding the deviation of the VAZ epoxidation/de-epoxidation cycle into the ABA precursor (i.e., Nx) biosynthetic direction. The preservation of the active VAZ cycle and transpiration led to an improved dissipation of exceeding electrons, explaining the higher resilience of canopy functionality expressed by canopies sprayed by kaolin. These results point out the interaction of kaolin with the regulation of the VAZ cycle and the active mechanism of stomatal conductance regulation.

M4 is a relatively new rootstock that was selected for increased resilience of vineyards across hot regions where meteorological drought is often coupled to water scarcity. However, M4 has thus far been tested only against water-stress sensitive rootstocks. Against this backdrop, the aim of the present work is to examine the water status and gas exchange performances of vines grafted to M4 in comparison to those of vines grafted to a commercial stock that is drought-tolerant, 1103 Paulsen (1103P), under a progressive water deficit followed by re-watering. This study was undertaken on Grechetto Gentile, a cultivar that is renowned for its rather conservative water use (near-isohydric behavior). While fifty percent of both grafts were fully irrigated (WW), the remaining underwent progressive water stress by means of suspending irrigation (WS). Soil and leaf water status, as well as leaf gas exchanges, along with chlorophyll fluorescence, were followed daily from 1 day pre-stress (DOY 176) until re-watering (DOY 184). Final leaf area per vine, divided in main and lateral contribution, was also assessed. While 1103P grafted vines manifested higher water use under WW conditions, progressive stress evidenced a faster water depletion by 1103P, which also maintained slightly more negative midday leaf water potential (Ψ_leaf) as compared to M4 grafted plants. Daily gas exchange readings, as well as diurnal assessment performed at the peak of stress (DOY 183), also showed increased leaf assimilation rates (A) and water use efficiency (WUE) in vines grafted on M4, which were also less susceptible to photosynthetic downregulation. Dynamic of stomatal closure targeted at 90% reduction of leaf stomatal conductance showed a similar behavior among rootstocks since the above threshold was reached by both at Ψ_leaf of about −1.11 MPa. The same fractional reduction in leaf A was reached by vines grafted on M4 at a Ψ_leaf of −1.28 MPa vs. −1.10 MPa measured in 1103P, meaning that using M4 as a rootstock will postpone full stomatal closure. While mechanisms involved in improved CO₂ uptake in M4-grafted vines under moderate-to-severe stress are still unclear, our data support the hypothesis that M4 might outscore the performance of a commercial drought-tolerant genotype (1103P) and can be profitably used as a tool to improve the resilience of vines to summer drought.

A novel bud-forcing technique aimed at obtaining two crops (primary and forced) within the same season was tested on potted Pinot noir grapevines. Removing young, vegetative organs from primary shoots trimmed to six nodes in early summer allows dormant buds to break para-dormancy, leading to a delayed, second crop. Meanwhile, the primary crop is left untouched. In our study, bud-forcing was applied at three different timings (full flowering, fruit-set, groat-sized berries) and compared with an unforced control (UC). Vegetative growth, yield components, shoot and vine balance as leaf area-to-yield ratios, leaf gas exchange, and grape composition were determined. Regardless of the timing of application, forcing was effective at unlocking either apical or sub-apical dormant buds on the trimmed shoot, whereas the more basal nodes stayed dormant. The additional crop present on forced shoots was 40%–50% of primary crop, which equated to approximately 1 kg/vine for all treatments. Fruitfulness on newly formed forced shoots varied from 0.8 to 1.1 clusters/shoot. Primary clusters in vines subjected to forced treatments reached target maturity with a delay of 7–12 days compared to UC, whereas forced-crop, picked at the latest available date (October 7) showed higher total soluble solids, anthocyanins and phenolics than the primary crop while retaining higher acidity. This ripening behavior was reflected in the higher A rates measured in late season on the basal leaves of forced shoots versus those of primary shoots. Forcing did not compromise fruitfulness of the basal primary nodes, which set at about 1.2 inflorescence primordia/shoot. This is the first report supporting the feasibility of double cropping in Vitis vinifera L. in warm viticulture regions.

Appropriate characterization of intra-parcel variability is a key element for the effective application of precision farming techniques. Nowadays there are many platforms available to end users differing for pixel spatial resolution and the type of acquisition (remote or proximal). A challenging aspect pertaining to remote sensing image acquisition in the vineyard ecosystem is that, in a large majority of cases, vegetation is discontinuous and single rows alternate with strips of either bare or grassed soil. In this paper, four different satellite platforms (Sentinel-2, Spot-6, Pleiades, and WorldView-3) having different spatial resolution and MECS-VINE^® proximity sensor were compared in terms of accuracy at describing spatial variability. Vineyard mapping was coupled with detailed ground truthing of growth, yield, and grape composition variables. The analysis was conducted based on vigor indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index or Canopy Index) and using the Moran Index (MI) to assess the degree of spatial auto-correlation for the different variables. The results obtained showed a large degree of intra-plot variability in the main agronomic parameters (pruning weight CV: 33.86%, yield: 32.09%). The univariate Moran index showed a log-linear function relating MI coefficients to the resolution levels. Comparison between vigor indices and agronomic data showed that the highest bivariate MI was reached by Pleiades followed by MECS-VINE^® which also did not exhibit the negative effect of the border pixel owing to the proximal scanning acquisition. Despite WorldView-3′s high resolution (1.24 m pixel) allowing very detailed data imaging, the comparison with ground-truth data was not encouraging, probably due to the presence of pure ground pixels, while Sentinel-2 was affected by the oversized pixel at 10 m.

Breeding technologies exploiting marker-assisted selection have accelerated the selection of new cross-bred pathogen-resistant grapevine varieties. Several genotypes have been patented and admitted to cultivation; however, while their tolerance to fungal diseases has been the object of several in vitro and field studies, their productive and fruit composition traits during ripening are still poorly explored, especially in warm sites. In this study, five white pathogen-resistant varieties (PRV) listed as UD 80–100, Soreli, UD 30–080, Sauvignon Rytos, Sauvignon Kretos were tested over two consecutive seasons in a site with a seasonal heat accumulation of about 2000 growing degree days (GDDs), and their performances were compared to two Vitis vinifera L. traditional varieties, Ortrugo and Sauvignon Blanc. Berries were weekly sampled from pre-veraison until harvest to determine total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA) dynamics. All tested PRV exhibited an earlier onset of veraison and a faster sugar accumulation, as compared to Ortrugo and Sauvignon Blanc, especially in 2019. At harvest, Sauvignon Blanc was the cultivar showing the highest titratable acidity (8.8 g/L). Ortrugo and PRV showed very low TA (about 4.7 g/L), with the exception of Sauvignon Rytos (6.5 g/L). However, data disclose that Sauvignon Rytos higher acidity at harvest relies on higher tartrate (+1.1 to +2.2 g/L, as compared to other PRV), whereas in Sauvignon Blanc, high TA at harvest is due to either tartaric (+1 g/L, compared to PRV) and malic (+2.5 g/L, compared to PRV) acid retention. Overall, Sauvignon Rytos is the most suited PRV to be grown in a warm climate, where retaining adequate acidity at harvest is crucial to produce high-quality white wines. Nevertheless, canopy and ripening management strategies must be significantly adjusted, as compared to the standard practice employed for the parental Sauvignon Blanc.

Several narrow or broadband spectral indices can be calculated at varying spatial and spectral resolution, which can then be correlated with the physiological and nutritional status of the leaves. In a three-year trial carried out on fruiting, potted cv. Barbera grapevines subjected to full (N+) or no (N0) nitrogen supply, seasonal evolution of different leaf spectral indices were correlated with non-destructive chlorophyll readings (Minolta SPAD meter), leaf gas exchange, and vine performance. Throughout the entire trial, N starvation resulted in greater-than-proportional limitation of vine yield as compared to vegetative growth (55% compared to 26% less than values measured on N+). Indices calculated within the red-edge spectral domain had highest sensitivity to relative change between N+ and N0, also indicating that the promptest response was recorded at the median shoot zone level. Twelve broadband indices were linearly correlated with leaf blade N concentration at veraison, indicating that N values ≤ 1.8% of dry matter identify a limiting N status. Any of these indices collected at the leaf level can be reliably used as a non-destructive predictor of N availability, albeit due to significant between-year variation in their absolute values at a given N level, readings should always include a well-supplied N treatment.