Biostimulants in Viticulture: A Sustainable Approach against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses

Abstract

Climate change and disproportionate anthropogenic interventions, such as the excess of phytopharmaceutical products and continuous soil tillage, are jeopardizing viticulture by subjecting plants to continuous abiotic stress. One of the main physiological repercussions of abiotic stress is represented by the unbalanced redox homeostasis due to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ultimately leading to a state of oxidative stress (detrimental to grape quality). To these are added the direct and indirect damages caused by pathogens (biotic stresses). In light of this scenario, it is inevitable that sustainable techniques and sensitivity approaches for environmental and human health have to be applied in viticulture. Sustainable viticulture can only be made with the aid of sustainable products. Biostimulant (PB) applications (including resistance inducers or elicitors) in the vineyard have become interesting maneuvers for counteracting vine diseases and improving grape quality. These also represent a partial alternative to soil fertilization by improving nutrient absorption and avoiding its leaching into the groundwater. Their role as elicitors has important repercussions in the stimulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway by triggering the activation of several enzymes, such as polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, and peroxidase (with the accumulation of phenolic compounds). The present review paper summarizes the PBs’ implications in viticulture, gathering historical, functional, and applicative information. This work aims to highlight the innumerable beneficial effects on vines brought by these products. It also serves to spur the scientific community to a greater contribution in investigating the response mechanisms of the plant to positive inductions.

COS-OGA Applications in Organic Vineyard Manage Major Airborne Diseases and Maintain Postharvest Quality of Wine Grapes

“…According to eco-friendly approaches and increasing organic wine demands, the global scientific community focused on developing alternatives to Cu in order to reduce and/or replace it in main crops, such as grapevine. There are many substances under ongoing testing and validation and some are already on the global market, such as inorganic substances (i.e., zeolite, potassium and sodium hydrogen carbonate); biological control agents (BCAs); biostimulants, including also arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), and resistance inducer (RI) products [11,[17][18][19].…”

“…Several bioformulates based on Trichoderma spp., Streptomyces spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Bacillus subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens are used to manage gray mold infections, whereas Ampelomyces quisqualis-based formulates are applied for the control of the powdery mildew of grape [1,17]. With regard to biostimulants, the most promising and widely used are seaweed extracts, protein hydrolysates, humic and fulvic acids, silicon, AMF and PGPR [18]. Several studies showed that mycorrhizal colonization provides pathogen protection through inducing plant systemic resistance [19,20].…”

Reduction of Evapotranspiration in Microenvironment Conditions of Table Grape Vineyards Protected by Different Types of Plastic Covers

“…The standard viticultural practices adopted by the farm were applied in all the vineyards, including cluster thinning (to 1.5 bunch/shoot), leaf thinning (4 interventions), mineral nutrition (fertilizer units: 135 N, 57 P 2 O 5 , 115 K 2 O, 80 CaO, 25 MgO) provided partly by soil distribution and partly by fertigation, and irrigation provided by sub-surface system (2000 m 3 /year as total amount of annual delivered water). Biostimulants were also applied to counteract biotic and abiotic stresses [35]. Grapes under covers were harvested in the last ten days of July; harvest in open field started 15 days later.…”

Current Insights into the Molecular Mode of Action of Seaweed-Based Biostimulants and the Sustainability of Seaweeds as Raw Material Resources

“…In recent years, several eco-friendly tools and approaches have been proposed and implemented to improve production in terms of agricultural sustainability [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. One approach has been to provide naturally derived compositions and safe inputs, known as biostimulants, to treat crop plants.…”