Towards grapevine root architectural models to adapt viticulture to drought

Abstract

To sustainably adapt viticultural production to drought, the planting of rootstock genotypes adapted to a changing climate is a promising means. Rootstocks contribute to the regulation of scion vigor and water consumption, modulate scion phenological development and determine resource availability by root system architecture development. There is, however, a lack of knowledge on spatio-temporal root system development of rootstock genotypes and its interactions with environment and management that prevents efficient knowledge transfer into practice. Hence, winegrowers take only limited advantage of the large variability of existing rootstock genotypes. Models of vineyard water balance combined with root architectural models, using both static and dynamic representations of the root system, seem promising tools to match rootstock genotypes to frequently occurring future drought stress scenarios and address scientific knowledge gaps. In this perspective, we discuss how current developments in vineyard water balance modeling may provide the background for a better understanding of the interplay of rootstock genotypes, environment and management. We argue that root architecture traits are key drivers of this interplay, but our knowledge on rootstock architectures in the field remains limited both qualitatively and quantitatively. We propose phenotyping methods to help close current knowledge gaps and discuss approaches to integrate phenotyping data into different models to advance our understanding of rootstock x environment x management interactions and predict rootstock genotype performance in a changing climate. This could also provide a valuable basis for optimizing breeding efforts to develop new grapevine rootstock cultivars with optimal trait configurations for future growing conditions.

Potential breeding target genes for enhancing agronomic drought resistance: A yield‐survival balance perspective

“…Functional physiological phenotyping (FPP), which refers to physiology‐based, high‐throughput and nondestructive phenotyping of a number of plants and their ambient environmental parameters, is particularly suitable for assessing and screening for ADR‐related traits (Fang et al, 2023; Li et al, 2021; Pandey et al, 2021). Imaging‐based phenotyping systems, on the other hand, have the advantages of higher throughput and operational easiness (Fichtl et al, 2023). Several phenomics platforms have been deployed in agricultural practices (Dwivedi et al, 2021; Lertngim et al, 2022).…”

The role of soil temperature in mediterranean vineyards in a climate change context

“…Exposure of plant roots to temperatures above their optimum often decreases primary root length and lateral root density, reducing the volume of soil explored by roots and consequently, reducing water and nutrient uptake ( Koevoets et al., 2016 ). Meanwhile, the root architecture may dynamically adapt to spatial and temporal temperature changes by acclimation of root structure and geometry ( Nagel et al., 2009 ; Fonseca de Lima et al., 2021 ; Fichtl et al., 2023 ). Nevertheless, it is difficult to quantify the effect of root temperature in real conditions, as the distribution of roots changes according to soil characteristics and conditions of the soil surface ( Pradel and Pieri, 2008 ).…”

Rootstocks Alter the Seasonal Dynamics and Vertical Distribution of New Root Growth of Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz grapevines

“…Generally, these variations may impact both root and shoot growth, and eventually the sustainable productivity of fruit trees [13]. Because of their genetic diversity, rootstocks can effect root architecture [14], scion vigor [15], flower induction [9], and may even alter mineral and water uptake [16] due to their different root anatomy. Therefore, a better understanding of root dynamics within fruit crops, such as root growth dynamics and root lifespan, has implications for fertilizer and irrigation management.…”