Heat-waves hit drought grapevines (HeadAche)

This project aims to study the combined effects of the two stressors (heat and drought stress) on the grapevine physiology response and its consequences on berry metabolism and composition with particular focus on key metabolites determining wine quality such as flavonoids and aroma compounds.

Stress response of grapevine rootstocks to iron deficiency through high bicarbonate soil (VineLresp)

The project investigates the response of iron deficiency and high bicarbonate contents in soils of grapevine rootstocks. The novelty of our approach is the application of standardized experimetns with high end analyses on different levels and the focus on processes yet unknown in grapevine rootstocks.

Exploring the grapevine metabolic plasticity under drought (PlasticGrape)

The PlasticGrape project will study the grapevine metabolic plasticity under drought by characterizing the vine metabolism response to water stress in two climatically distinct environments (Tulln-Austria and Vipava-Slovenia).

Nutrition effects on vines and soils in vineyards (NutriVine)

In 2018 and 2019 pot experiments were conducted with vines in order to test different substrates and nutrition amendments to prevent chlorose symptoms under lime stress conditions. The fertilizer BioAgenasol strongly promoted plant growth and root developments enabling the plant to cope with high lime stress situations much better as comparable fertilizers. A direct translation of results from pot experiments to vineyards is not possible as vines are prennial plants. The presented project is a 2-year experiment in vineyards to determine effects of different fertilizers including BioAgenasol on vegetative and generative parameters of vines including fruit parameters. 

Innovative organic fruit breeding and uses (InnoBreed)

Aim of InnoBreed is to find innovative solutions for a participatory development of fruit cultivars, which are suitable for the special challenges of organic production in times of climatic change. New compiled and harmonised protocols prioritise important traits and allow to evaluate existing and new genetic ressources for their suitability in low input systems and for further breeding. The focus of our Institute is on apple and peach.

Grape berry ROS metabolism at different growth phases and in response to abiotic stress (GROS)

Susceptibility of grape berries to stressors such as drought or heat changes according to the stress intensity and duration, but also depending on the berry developmental status at stress occurrence. For example, grapes in the herbaceous phase are more susceptible to drought stress than berries in the ripening stage. Drought and heat stress, which are predicted to increase in frequency and magnitude due to climate change, share a common effect in increasing the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells. The project will explore the different strategies that grape berries could adopt to counteract an increase in ROS molecules produced in response to stressors, including the boost of the antioxidant pool (or de novo biosynthesis of antioxidant molecules) and the modification in the expression of ROS scavenging enzymes.

Understanding and quantifying the contribution of genetic components to the diversity of grapevine environmental response (DiverGrape)

Grapevine has a large breadth of genetic diversity at the rootstock, variety, and clone levels. Unfortunately, very little of this diversity is currently utilized and its potential role in abiotic stress response has not been properly quantified. DiverGrape has been designed including partners from four European countries with varying environmental and vineyard conditions. The partnership will apply a standardized methodological approach based on both eco-physiology and metabolomics tools to quantify the contribution to environmental response of: i) clonal variation within given local varieties, ii) rootstock material for a given variety and ii) the interaction between rootstock and scion. Taking advantage of existing vineyards with a variety of genetic material located in different European viticulture areas, the partnership will quantify how environment drives grapevine plasticity to specific climates.