Analyses of Xylem Vessel Size on Grapevine Cultivars and Relationship with Incidence of Esca Disease, a Threat to Grape Quality

Abstract

Esca disease is one of the most important grapevine trunk diseases. It seriously reduces the quality and quantity of grapevine production, and results in a shorter vineyard lifespan. Previous studies have suggested that wide xylem vessel diameter favours development on grapevine of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, one of the fungi involved in esca, thus affecting disease susceptibility. In this study, cultivars mainly originated from European countries, 27 white-berried and 24 red-berried grapevine cultivars, were grown in the same experimental vineyard and were analysed for xylem vessel sizes (as diameter and frequency) for correlation with esca incidence. In this study, the cultivars showed significant differences in the xylem vessel parameters. However, no relationship was detected between vessel size and esca incidence in the field. Overall, white-berried cultivars showed wider vessel diameters than red-berried cultivars. The relationship between xylem vessel size in the red-berried and white-berried cultivars and incidence of esca symptoms is discussed. We suggest that vessel anatomy profiles can provide useful information for further investigations on grapevine genotype structure–esca incidence relationships.

Hybrid Vitis Cultivars With American or Asian Ancestries Show Higher Tolerance Towards Grapevine Trunk Diseases

“…In accordance with previous results, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon showed the highest DI in the surveyed Hungarian germplasm collections, all four with their own climate and soil characteristics, while Furmint, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc were found less GTD susceptible [12,42,43,46,55]. Blaufraenkisch (also referred to as Limberger), again confirmed by our current results, constistently one of the lowest DI [42,43,46,55], while Merlot and Pinot Noir usually were also found less susceptible to most of GTDs in general [12,42,46,55,56].…”

“…Comparing the sensitivity of different grapevine cultivars to esca, significant differences were found between those with red and those with white berries, and their respective xylem vessel diameter and density [46]. The average vessel diameter of the white cultivars was larger with higher densities, compared to the red grapevines.…”

Connection matters: exploring the implications of scion–rootstock alignment in grafted grapevines

“…The implications of the differences in the connection between the rootstock and scion hardwood cuttings apparently fade as the vine age, however, it is necessary to keep in mind that it could have other negative consequences on the future development of the vines. Misalignment results in an increase of necrotic wood tissue at the graft junction (Milien et al 2012) that could favour the development of wood fungi inside the vine (Gambetta et al 2009, Foglia et al 2022) and might have a negative effect on vineyard performance in the mid-term and even reduce its longevity.…”

Minimal versus Intensive: How the Pruning Intensity Affects Occurrence of Grapevine Leaf Stripe Disease, Wood Integrity, and the Mycobiome in Grapevine Trunks

“…Furthermore, it has been shown that some cultivars, e.g., ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’, ‘Grechetto’ or ‘Sangiovese’, are more susceptible to GLSD than others, e.g., ‘Chardonnay’, ‘Pinot’ or ‘Merlot’ [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. This cultivar-dependent susceptibility probably correlates with the number and the width of xylem vessels; cultivars with larger vessels are considered to be more vulnerable to drought-stress-induced xylem cavitation and embolism [ 4 , 6 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. In this context, drought-stress or, in general, climate conditions have also been reported to contribute to symptom expression [ 34 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ].…”