Viticulture is affected by climate change. The level of plasticity, that represents an index of the genotype adaptability to different pedoclimatic conditions, is an indicator of the cultivar adaptation to the climate change, in particular to drought increase. Grapevine adaptation to drought generally involves morphological, physiological and productive modifications. This study explored the genotype × environment interaction of two black grape cultivars, ‘Aglianico’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’. The study was conducted in 2020 and 2021, in six commercial Vitis vinifera L. vineyards, located in three regions of central-southern Italy: Molise, Campania and Sicily. Bud fruitfulness, total leaf area/vine, midday water status, and fruit yield were measured. In Molise and Campania, the climate is characterized by cold winters and mild summers; the rainfall is fairly uniform throughout the year. Sicily is characterized by a prolonged drought period during the productive season. Both the potential and observed bud fertilities were generally lower in ‘Aglianico’. The vegetative parameters indicate a long period of water stress in Sicily. The leaf water potential of ‘Aglianico’ was very negative during the dry season. In Molise and Campania, the stomatal conductance and the leaf water potential revealed that ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ can be classified as a near-isohydric cultivar, ‘Aglianico’ as a near-anisohydric cultivar. The yield was in line with the bud load chosen during winter pruning. For the ‘Aglianico’ cultivar the environmental conditions in Sicily were limiting; in Molise the environmental conditions favored an excess of vegetative growth and canopy density. On the contrary, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ expressed its morphological stability mainly through its bud performance, shoot growth, leaf area, and total leaf area/vine. ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’, characterized by a high stomatal conductance, maintained a less negative leaf water potential, thus expressing its varietal characteristics, regardless of the environmental growing conditions mainly in Molise and Campania.
Assessment of the plasticity level of two Vitis vinifera L. cultivars in three environments of central and southern Italy as an indicator of the impact of climate change
Nicolosi E.
;Sicilia A.;Lo Piero A. R.;
2025-01-01
Abstract
Viticulture is affected by climate change. The level of plasticity, that represents an index of the genotype adaptability to different pedoclimatic conditions, is an indicator of the cultivar adaptation to the climate change, in particular to drought increase. Grapevine adaptation to drought generally involves morphological, physiological and productive modifications. This study explored the genotype × environment interaction of two black grape cultivars, ‘Aglianico’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’. The study was conducted in 2020 and 2021, in six commercial Vitis vinifera L. vineyards, located in three regions of central-southern Italy: Molise, Campania and Sicily. Bud fruitfulness, total leaf area/vine, midday water status, and fruit yield were measured. In Molise and Campania, the climate is characterized by cold winters and mild summers; the rainfall is fairly uniform throughout the year. Sicily is characterized by a prolonged drought period during the productive season. Both the potential and observed bud fertilities were generally lower in ‘Aglianico’. The vegetative parameters indicate a long period of water stress in Sicily. The leaf water potential of ‘Aglianico’ was very negative during the dry season. In Molise and Campania, the stomatal conductance and the leaf water potential revealed that ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ can be classified as a near-isohydric cultivar, ‘Aglianico’ as a near-anisohydric cultivar. The yield was in line with the bud load chosen during winter pruning. For the ‘Aglianico’ cultivar the environmental conditions in Sicily were limiting; in Molise the environmental conditions favored an excess of vegetative growth and canopy density. On the contrary, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ expressed its morphological stability mainly through its bud performance, shoot growth, leaf area, and total leaf area/vine. ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’, characterized by a high stomatal conductance, maintained a less negative leaf water potential, thus expressing its varietal characteristics, regardless of the environmental growing conditions mainly in Molise and Campania.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
