Open Access
Timing of defoliation affects anthocyanin and sugar decoupling in Grenache variety growing in warm seasons
(Elsevier, 2024) Fernández-Zurbano, Purificación; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Villa Llop, Ana; Loidi Erviti, Maite; Peñalosa, Carlos; Músquiz, Sergio; Torres Molina, Nazareth; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Warming trends over the winegrowing regions lead to an advance of grapevine phenology, decreased yield and increased sugar content with a lower polyphenol content. We hypothesized that different leaf removal timings may counteract these effects. A two-year experiment was conducted in La Rioja (Spain) with Vitis vinifera L. cv. Grenache trained in an open-vase system. Trial consisted in a complete block design with two leaf removal treatments differing in the moment of manipulation: i) severe leaf removal treatment conducted after fruit set (ELR); and ii) severe leaf removal at veraison (LLR) compared to an untreated control (Control). Both leaf removal treatments tended to decrease sugar content with no effect on yield, these effects being highly affected by the year. Defoliation accounted for a decreased flavanol and stilbene contents in berries at harvest. An ELR increased anthocyanin and phenolic acid contents at harvest, while warming during 2022 accounted for decreased contents of all the monitored groups of flavonols. ELR was only effective for delaying ripening by means of impairing the sugar:anthocyanin decoupling during the 2021 growing season which was related to lower % of kaempferol. Altogether, results suggested that defoliation should still be applied under currently warming trends in some viticulture regions.
Open Access
The role of rootstocks for grape growing adaptation to climate change: meta-analysis of the research conducted in Spanish viticulture
(International Viticulture and Enology Society, 2023) Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Rekarte, Isabel; Torres Molina, Nazareth; Galar Martínez, Mónica; Villa Llop, Ana; Visconti, Fernando; Intrigliolo, Diego S.; Escalona, José M.; Herralde, Felicidad de; Miranda Jiménez, Carlos; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB
Rootstock election is one of the key decisions when designing a vineyard. Although the research performed to determine the effect they induce in the behaviour of scion varieties is not scarce, it is not easy to have a global idea, as results are usually published scattered. In this work, we re-examine previous research conducted in Spain on rootstock implications on vine agronomic performance through the performance of a meta-analysis (MA). As a result, we were able to integrate the information reported in 20 articles that included rootstock experimentation conducted with 36 different varieties and 47 different rootstocks, totalling 764 individual records. However, when the information was filtered before the meta-analysis, this number decreased to 312 records, for which rootstock Response Ratios (RR) were calculated. The characteristics conferred by the rootstock were more closely related to the rootstock itself, rather than to the characteristics of the Vitis sp. crossing used to create the rootstock. Several rootstocks were identified as more suitable for adapting to future climate change conditions, as far as they were able to moderate sugar accumulation and pH (161-49 C, 41-B MGt and 420A MGt). Meanwhile, 140 Ru and 5-BB were observed to provide high pH and sugar contents despite their high yield. In conclusion, despite being based on data from a single country, the meta-analysis was shown to be a useful tool for enhancing the value of previous research on rootstocks. Combining articles from both peer-reviewed and technical journals helped in the assessment of the implications of different rootstocks, although further steps should be taken to facilitate data integration (harmonisation of measurement and reporting procedures, open data repositories, etc).
Open Access
Respectful pruning improves grapevine development: a case study in young vineyards
(Wiley, 2024-09-09) Galar Martínez, Mónica; Torres Molina, Nazareth; Sebastián Caumel, Bárbara; Palacios Muruzábal, Julián; Arzoz Lafuente, Ignacio; Juanena Ayestarán, Nahiara; Villa Llop, Ana; Loidi Erviti, Maite; Dewasme, Coralie; Roby, Jean Philippe; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Grapevine pruning is an agronomical operation required to regulate growth and yield, improve fruit quality, and maintain plant health and vigour. However, the intensification of the crop in the last decades, driven by efforts to increase productivity and decrease costs, has led to reduced attention to this operation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether different pruning styles during the first years of vineyard training affect grapevine development. Three pruning styles were followed in a newly planted cv. 'Tempranillo' vineyard for four consecutive pruning seasons: (i) respectful (RESP), where pruning cuts were always made leaving protection wood between the cut and vine perennial structures, and the preferential sap flow path was chosen; (ii) aggressive (AGGR), where no protection wood was left and, when possible, the nonpreferential sap flow path was followed; and (iii) winegrape grower (WIN), where the common practices used in the area were followed, which corresponds to an intermediate style between RESP and AGGR. In general, the RESP style increased the vegetative development compared to WIN and AGGR styles over the years and produced a higher yield in the first production year, although the intensity of the effect was not the same in the two vineyards considered. This was the first effort to systematically assess the effects of respectful pruning techniques on vine vegetative growth and demonstrate scientifically its impact.
Open Access
Conventional and newly bred rootstock effects on the ecophysiological response of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo
(Elsevier, 2023) Buesa, Ignacio; Torres Molina, Nazareth; Tortosa, Ignacio; Marín Ederra, Diana; Villa Llop, Ana; Douthe, Cyril; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Medrano, H.; Escalona, José M.; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB
Achieving more environmentally sustainable vineyards, particularly regarding efficient water use, is paramount in semi-arid grape-growing regions. Rootstocks may be a possible strategy to address these challenges, but require a comprehensive evaluation of their effect on the scion, including ecophysiological traits. The objectives of this study were 1) to characterize the physiological response of Tempranillo cultivar grafted onto five commercial (1103 P, 110 R, 140Ru, 420 A, and SO4), and seven recently bred (RG2, RG3, RG4, RG6, RG7, RG8 and RG9) rootstocks and 2) to elucidate the relationships between agronomic and physiological traits conferred by grapevine rootstocks. This was carried out over three seasons (2018–2020) in a typical Mediterranean vineyard by determining water relations, leaf gas exchange, carbon isotope ratios and vegetative development and yield components. The results highlighted the different behaviour of ‘Tempranillo’ vines due to the rootstock effects on vine water status, photosynthetic performance, hydraulic conductance, vegetative growth and yield parameters. Overall, rootstocks inducing vigour and yield in the scion, such as 140Ru and RG8, showed higher leaf gas exchange rates and hydraulic conductance at the whole-plant level due to less negative water potentials, suggesting a higher water uptake and transport capacity than RG2, RG7 and RG9. The RG rootstocks showed a very wide range of ecophysiological responses, but only RG8 outperformed compared to the most widely used commercial rootstocks. Moreover, this response was modulated by the season and the block soil type, suggesting the importance of rootstock selection according to the edaphoclimatic conditions. Therefore, this study highlights the high potential of rootstocks to adapt to water scarcity by improving crop water productivity in vineyards and provides physiological insights for future studies and breeding programmes.
Open Access
Guía de buenas prácticas de poda de la vid
(2022) Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Palacios Muruzábal, Julián; Sebastián Caumel, Bárbara; Arzoz Lafuente, Ignacio; Dewasme, Coralie; Galar Martínez, Mónica; Juanena Ayestarán, Nahiara; Loidi Erviti, Maite; Roby, Jean Philippe; Rodríguez Lorenzo, Maite; Torres Molina, Nazareth; Villa Llop, Ana; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación
Esta es una guía gráfica e interactiva de buenas prácticas de poda de la vid, en la que se explica mediante vídeos sencillos y de fácil seguimiento cómo cumplir los criterios fundamentales que se deben seguir a la hora de realizar la poda del viñedo para no comprometer la longevidad de la planta. La Guía se centra en los sistemas de conducción vaso, Cordón Royat y Guyot porque son los más habituales, pero gran parte de lo descrito es válido para todos los sistemas de conducción ya que los principios fundamentales de la poda deben respetarse independientemente del sistema de poda. La Guía ha sido elaborada en el marco del proyecto Vites Qualitas (EFA 324/19) SOSTENIBILIDAD Y COMPETITIVIDAD DE LA VITICULTURA EN EL TERRITORIO POCTEFA
Open Access
Connection matters: exploring the implications of scion-rootstock alignment in grafted grapevines
(Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology, 2022) Marín Ederra, Diana; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Dayer, S.; Villa Llop, Ana; Abad Zamora, Francisco Javier; Gambetta, Gregory A.; Torres-Ruiz, J. M.; Torres Molina, Nazareth; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Background and aims: grafting in viticulture has been essential since the advent of the phylloxera crisis at the end of the 19th century, but relatively little is known about the relevance of the quality of the connection at the grafting junction on the behaviour of grafted grapevines. Methods and results: an experimental procedure comparing omega grafted vines with complete alignment of the scion and the rootstock (CA) and vines with partial alignment (PA) was developed. Three complementary trials were carried out in the nursery, in the field and under controlled conditions. The CA vines increased the success rate in the nursery. Vine growth was significantly affected by the alignment between the rootstock and scion both in the nursery and in their first year of establishment in a commercial vineyard and in a potted trial, although these differences dissipated in years 2 and 3 under commercial vineyard conditions. The CA graft also maintained a higher level of leaf gas exchange, but such differences did not correspond to those in the hydraulic conductivity across the graft union itself. Conclusions: the degree of alignment of the grafted vine material affected vine development, but a better understanding of the role of vascular connections in different graft types and qualities is needed. Significance of the Study: to the best of our knowledge, this is the first scientific study that developed an experimental procedure for assessing the implication of the alignment at the grafting point on grapevine physiology and water use.