Effect of abiotic stresses on phenotypic plasticity of grapevine varieties tolerant to fungal diseases 

Supervisor: Dott. Paolo Sivilotti

Climate change is challenging crop productivity and profitability in many regions of the world. Regarding its effects, drought is actually and, will be even more in the next decades, one of the major threats. Relative to this argument, research on plant responses to water stress has high interest by the international scientific community. Nonetheless, knowledges are still limited by omissions. About perennial plants, grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is considered a plant model for this kind of studies, because of its different behaviours (isohydric and anisohydric) and its own high capacity of adaption.

In this scenario the University of Udine is working on by several years. In the lasts years researches were concentrated primarily on the effects on plant physiology and the berry quality parameters. Now our aim is to make progresses in the comprehension of the genetic up and down regulated genes in response to water stress, and on the hormonal regulation mechanisms. Looking at this, now in our University’s farm two major experiments are imposed. A long-term experiment on field conditions with four new fungal diseases tolerant grapevine varieties exposed to two opposite water regimes and, an experiment on Merlot cv grapevine growth in pots under a tunnel ever in different water treatments.

These understandings will be useful in the future to improve plant resistance to water deficit and agronomical practices aimed to improve water use efficiency in agriculture.

Biography and Contacts

Riccardo Braidotti was born in 1994 in Udine (UD) – Italy.

He carried on his studies at the University of Udine. In 2016 he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science, and then, in 2018 the master’s degree in Agricultural Science and Technology with honour.

From November 2019, he is attending the Ph.D. school in Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology at the University of Udine.

e-mail: riccardo.braidotti@spes.uniud.it