Physiology of stress response in grapevine

In the framework of a more sustainable vineyard, an improved and more efficient irrigation management together with the decrease in the number of pesticide treatments per year represent necessary steps towards a more environmental friendly – low impact strategy in conventional, as well as in organic viticulture. In this scenario, the main goals of this project can be divided into two research lines. From one side, the project aims to improve comprehension about different hydraulic behaviour (namely isohydric and anisohydric) of grapevine cultivars and the role of carbon reserve during and after drought stress. Carbon reserve, also known as non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), besides their role in sustaining plant respiration when photosynthesis is limited, and the resumption of vegetative growth, could play a critical osmotic function, aiming to maintain turgor and longdistance vascular integrity. How water shortage affects NSC assimilation and storage, and what is their role in the physiology of cavitation refilling in Vitis vinifera, will be investigated. The other research line plans to test capability of inducing broad-spectrum resistance against pathogens in grapevine by plant extract biostimulant treatments. Grapevines, as well as other plants, respond to stress by activating a large array of mechanisms at different levels of complexity, ranging from molecular and cellular to anatomical and morphological ones. In particular, the research will focus on the study of the accumulation and/or modulation of pathogen-related (PR) proteins in grapevine plant and the inhibition of pathogenic fungal widespread, caused by bio-stimulant application.