Contexte

Climate change and environmental degradation have been challenging Europe and the whole world. The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 is a comprehensive, ambitious and long-term plan to preserve nature and reverse the ecosystem degradation. Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the major fruit crops worldwide, and although viticulture is a leading sector of the EU agro-industrial economy, it is the cropping system with the highest use of agrochemicals and with a high risk of biodiversity loss. The poor exploitation of biodiversity in grapevine represents a serious limitation, as an effective and timely response to the today's global and rapidly changing challenges will be feasible only if the variability of genetic resources is as large as possible. To achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal, one of the prerequisites for the development of environmentally friendly, profitable, and competitive viticulture is the generation and introduction of varieties resilient to the main pathogens and having competitive quality at the same time, starting from the unexplored grapevine biodiversity and leveraging on new breeding opportunities. Disease management requires the application of multiple approaches, in which the available genetic resources and new genetic improvement programs must be put at the service of Integrated Pest Management strategies. Grapevine has thus become a model woody plant with a wide range of available genetic and molecular tools representing an ideal standard for other grafted crops and for most fruit trees.

Objectives

The overall objective of SHIELD4GRAPE (S4G) is to implement sustainable agroecological approaches contributing to the improvement of resilience of the grapevine agri-food systems against pest diseases in a context of climatic changes. The S4G project is multi- and interdisciplinary, collaborative and well representative of different EU biogeographical regions. S4G will i) exploit grapevine biodiversity and identify new resilience traits; ii) implement breeding activities, including new breeding techniques and mutagenesis; iii) introduce safer and more sustainable strategies against pathogens. Demonstration fields will be set up in all the most important EU regions interested in viticulture to improve the efficacy of applied integrated pest management protocols in combination with the new resilient genotypes. S4G aims to support farmers and researchers, to provide advisory services and actors in value chains by establishing an interrelated community that will facilitate exchange of knowledge and of the best practices at different levels and socio-economic resilience. S4G impacts will add value to the wine heritage of the EU regions by reducing chemical treatments (at least by 50%), using strategies that are less hazardous to the environment and favouring beneficial organisms. S4G will contribute to safeguard the territory (particularly those areas with a high concentration of vineyards), human health, farmers, the population living in grape-growing areas and consumers.

Activities

SHIELD4GRAPE’s objectives will be achieved by applying approaches specifically tailored to the different resilient genotypes under greenhouse and field conditions. Experimental/demonstrative fields will be set up for resistant hybrids, local/minor resilient varieties and somaclones in all the most important EU biogeographical regions interested in viticulture. 

Exploitation of grapevine biodiversity and identification of new traits for resilience. Although qualitative pathogen resistance traits are very difficult to be identified in V. vinifera germplasm, less susceptible individuals are known and could be commercially revalued and exploited in breeding programs. The most interesting resilient accessions will be characterized morphologically and genetically to identify key tolerance-associated traits. The interaction between pathogens and these resilient accessions will be analysed by integrating different Omics, including the study of epigenetic modifications controlling the identified tolerance traits.

Breeding activities. Grapevine is one of the few crops that in EU is strongly connected with the socio-cultural background of grape-growing areas. In this framework, a genetic improvement program in grapevine must necessarily be linked to the socio-economic context and deals with different approaches. The first strategy will encompass the implementation of traditional breeding activities on local varieties. The second one will rely on the New Genomics Techniques (NGTs), which can represent the future of genetic improvement in plants with the production of cis-genic and edited grapevines. The third breeding approach addressed in S4G is the induction of mutations in embryogenic tissues and regeneration of plants (somaclones) with improved tolerance to environmental stresses. These mutations should favour the activation of defence responses (priming) changing the plant trade-off towards an increased tolerance to a wide range of stresses.

Field trials and IPM. S4G will contribute to enhance grapevine resilience, by associating the selected resilient genotypes with IPM strategies. The best-performing and sustainable approaches will be applied for each resilient genotype (resistant hybrids, local/minor varieties, somaclones) under field conditions in the different cultivation areas. Different IPM strategies (resistance inducers, elicitors, green chemistry products, SynComs) will be applied in different experimental/demonstrative vineyards. The effect of diverse IPM protocols will be tested using multi- and transdisciplinary approaches. The preservation of beneficial endophytes and pollinators will be considered, and fungicide residues on leaves, berries and wines will be evaluated. 

Socio-economic tools. The impact of field-tested innovative approaches will be evaluated by using a holistic multi-criteria methodology that integrates environmental, economic and social tools/indexes. Semi-structured interviews and surveys by questionnaire will be developed to collect primary and representative data about current management practises, drivers and barriers in the adoption of new/rediscovered grapevine genotypes, including NGT-derived plants, IPM practises, socio-economic and policy impact and market analysis. Structural Equation Models will be applied to depict behavioural antecedents in adopted the viticultural practices analysed by S4G. 

Knowledge networking. S4G will consider and address the needs of relevant stakeholders and provide them practical tools and solutions according to a Multi-Actor Approach. S4G consortium will spend efforts to dissemination and demonstration activities, targeting researchers, students, farmers, producers, agricultural advisors, consumers, and policy makers. These actions will spread knowledge among the different actors by sharing science outcomes and best practises over the diverse agro-ecosystems by specific exchange programs and training activities for scientists, industry farmers and citizens.