R. Di Lorenzo

• University of Palermo

Introduction HyTan, a new chestnut tannin extracted from chestnut wood via hydrodynamic cavitation at low temperature in water only, is an effective biostimulant for the nursery production of high-quality grapevine planting material. Methods Experiments were carried out in Sicily with HyTan aqueous extracts obtained at different temperatures (45,...

Climate change significantly affects viticulture, with noticeable impacts on yield and quality. The increase in average temperatures, often coupled with decreased precipitation, accelerates the phenological development of grapevines, leading to rapid sugar accumulation and concentration and decreased acidity. This study aimed to evaluate the impact...

HyTan, a new chestnut tannin extracted from chestnut wood via hydrodynamic cavitation at low temperature in water only, is an effective biostimulant for the nursery production of high-quality grapevine planting material. Experiments were carried out in Sicily with HyTan aqueous extracts obtained at different temperature (45, 60 and 75°C) and dosage...

Introduction The biology of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is clearly influenced by the climatic conditions of the growing environment, where temperature and light play a major role in modifying plant physiology. In the scenario of climatic changes, radiative excess, correlated to the increase in temperature, can concretely subject the photosynt...

Abstract: Context and purpose of the study - Challenging conditions created by limited water supply and changes in the climate require an understanding of the physiological status of table grapes along the whole value chain. This is critical to develop tools for regulatory management of growth balances and grape quality. This study aimed to determi...

Table grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is considered to be one of the most popular fruit crops in the world. Italy is the leading table-grape producer in the EU and is the main European exporting country. However, to stay competitive, new solutions and perspectives, including varietal renovation, are now needed in addition to the already well-established...

Background Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) have a large impact on the quality of life of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Few studies have compared BPSD between early-onset (EOAD) and late-onset (LOAD) patients, finding conflicting results. Objective The aims of this study were to: 1) characterize the presence, over...

Ambient radiation and temperature are global drivers of grapevine growth, grape yield and composition, and wine quality. Knowledge of the implications of vineyard row orientation/microclimate is required for decision-making in current and future macro- and mesoclimates. Temporal and cumulative microclimatic changes, induced by vine row orientation...

Ambient radiation and temperature are global drivers of grapevine growth, grape yield and composition, and wine quality. Knowledge of the implications of vineyard row orientation/microclimate is required for decision-making in current and future macro- and mesoclimates. Temporal and cumulative microclimatic changes, induced by vine row orientation...

Polyploidy plays an important role in plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses. Alterations of the ploidy in grapevine plants regenerated via somatic embryogenesis (SE) may provide a source of genetic variability useful for the improvement of agronomic characteristics of crops. In the grapevine, the SE induction process may cause ploidy chan...

Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) is one of the main causes of grapevine fanleaf degeneration disease (GFDD) and is present in almost all areas where grapevine is cultivated. In this work, we ascertained the presence and spread of GFLV in different commercial vineyards in four Sicilian provinces (Italy), and its genetic structure and molecular variabi...

The present work studied the effect of two consecutive years of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) compared to rain fed management on the vegetative growth, yield, and quality of ‘Nero d’Avola’ grapes. The trial was conducted separately in two soils (vertisol and entisol) located at the top and bottom hillside of the same vineyard. Vertisol was cha...

This paper aimed to study the effect of temporary cover crop and vine pruning residue burial as alternative practices to conventional tillage on soil nitrate (NO3-N) availability and grapevine performance in the short term. The trial was carried out in a rain-fed vineyard (Vitis vinifera L., cv Grecanico dorato/140 Ruggeri) located in a traditional...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of paper bagging of grape bunches on the morphological, mechanical, and chemical characteristics of berries of three table grapes varieties as an environmentally-friendly technique for protecting clusters from biotic and abiotic agents. Clusters of Italia, Autumn Royal, and Regal Seedless grape cu...

In the last few decades, the accumulation of sugar in grape berries and hence the alcohol degree of wines has been affected by increasing global temperatures. In order to limit plant photosynthetic activity, it is possible to apply anti-transpirant on field, reducing sugar accumulation in berries. In this contest, our aim was to evaluate the effici...

BACKGROUND Berry size is considered an important quality factor in red wine production. The objective of this work was to study the effect of vine water status on berry mass in field conditions, with a specific focus on berry tissue masses. RESULTS The study was carried out over 2 years in a plot located in Sicily (Italy). Two irrigation treatment...

In viticulture, global warming requires reconsideration of current production models. At the base of this need there are some emerging phenomena: modification of phenological phases; acceleration of the maturation process of grapes, with significant increases in the concentration of sugar musts; decoupling between technological grape maturity and p...

Cultivar Grillo vines are characterized by problems with flower biology (the fertility of basal buds) and fructification (millerandage). In this study, to manage the variability in bunch weight with winter pruning and to program others canopy management practices (i.e. early defoliation), three different treatments of bud load were set up by leavin...

The response of wine grapes to irrigation systems was investigated in a Cabernet Sauvignon/140 Ru vineyard in sandy loam soil in Sicily during a two-year study. Two different drip irrigation systems were evaluated: one surface drip and two subsurface drip irrigation systems, with the trickle line located at different distances from vine trunks. Veg...

Grafting is an important technique for getting good yields in plant multiplication. Understanding the success of the graft after the incubation stage is important to the evaluation of the suitable grafting for the open field (nursery). Successful grafting in vines requires the development of a functional vascular system between the scion and the ro...

Final berry mass, a major quality factor in wine production, is determined by the integrated effect of biotic and abiotic factors that can also influence berry composition. Under field conditions, interactions between these factors complicate study of the variability of berry mass and composition. Depending on the observation scale, the hierarchy o...

Leaf removal is a grapevine canopy management technique widely used to modify the source–sink balance and/or microclimate around berry clusters to optimize fruit composition. In general, the removal of basal leaves before flowering reduces fruit set, hence achieving looser clusters, and improves grape composition since yield is generally curtailed...

The viticulture of Sicily, for its vocation, is one of the most important and ancient forms in Italy. Autochthonous grapevine cultivars, many of which known throughout the world, have always been cultivated in the island from many centuries. With the aim to preserve this large grapevine diversity, previous studies have already started to assess the...

Understanding abscission is both a biological and an agronomic challenge. Flower abscission induced independently by shade and gibberellic acid (GAc) sprays was monitored in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) growing under a soilless greenhouse system during two seasonal growing conditions, in an early and late production cycle. Physiological and metabo...

White wine quality, especially in warm climates, is affected by sunlight and heat stress. These factors increase the probability that ambering processes will occur and reduce the potential flavour compounds. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sunlight reduction on the accumulation of polyphenolic and aromatic compounds. This study was co...

In this review, the technique of soil-less cultivation of horticultural crops is analysed, the main differences between this and traditional cultivation techniques are described, and the advantages and disadvantages of each method in relation to the others are identified. Soilless cultivation has revolutionised various sectors of vegetable and flor...

The use and timing of many agronomical practices such as the scheduling of irrigation and harvesting are dependent on accurate vineyard sampling of qualitative and productive parameters. Crop forecasting also depends on the representativeness of vineyard samples during the whole phenological period. This manuscript summarizes the last two years of...

Mechanical and manual leaf removal of Nero d'Avola vines were carried out in a commercial vineyard in Sclafani Bagni area, Sicily (South Italy), in the 2007 growing season. Rows were North East-South West oriented and vines were spur pruned and non-irrigated. The aim was to investigate the effects of two different ways of defoliation on plant physi...

This study was done on 'ShirazVRichter 99 grapes with the intention to define the variation of skin anthocyanin content in a single berry. The effects of berry position (on the rachis), berry exposure, berry weight category, part of the skin of a single berry, and their interactions, were analysed. The anthocyanin concentration of externally facing...

In this study, characterisation of the physical and compositional parameters of berries located in different positions on the rachis of ShirazIR99 bunches was done. Berries were divided according to position on the rachis (apical, median and basal) and berry weight, resulthig in four berry weight classes, averaging 0.86 g, 1.29 g, 1.74 g and 2.26 g...

In this study, characterisation of the physical and compositional parameters of berries located in different positions on the rachis of ShirazIR99 bunches was done. Berries were divided according to position on the rachis (apical, median and basal) and berry weight, resulthig in four berry weight classes, averaging 0.86 g, 1.29 g, 1.74 g and 2.26 g...

p style="text-align: justify;"> Aims : Tests were carried out to assess the effects of early defoliation, cluster thinning and cluster cutting on the basic and nutritional composition of musts and wines of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Montepulciano. Methods and results : Both production and quality variables of the musts were evaluated. Antioxidant activi...

p style="text-align: justify;"> Aim : Root hydraulic conductivity is one of the main factors that control water flow in the soil-plant system and ultimately affect crop irrigation requirements. This work sets out to estimate root water conductivity for three self-rooted or grafted table grape cultivars. Methods and results : We evaluated root water...

This paper reviews cultural practices to improve fruit quality in table grape during vegetative and reproductive season. Summer pruning in table grape (Vitis vinifera L.) has more effects than winter pruning, above all, dealing with the plant productivity and final number of bunches for harvesting. Quality of production may be enhanced considering...

As occurred on many other small Mediterranean islands, agricultural activity at Lampedusa (Strait of Sicily) underwent a very strong decline in terms of surface area during the second half of the last century. In particular, cereal crops have ceased and horticulture is disappearing, while vineyards still occupy a reduced area but are quickly vanish...

This review first revisits current knowledge about single-leaf function, viz. photosynthesis, chiefly in relation to environmental factors, that underscores the importance of multiple summer stresses. Emphasis is placed on the response different genotypes show under light and heat stress with or without soil-water shortage. Secondly, it tackles the...

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of different levels of water stress and different irrigation systems to the vegetative and reproductive behaviour of 'Cabernet Sauvignon'/140Ru, vertically trained, during the growing season 2003- 2004. The vineyard was located in Sicily (in the south of Italy); the soil was loamysand and the cli...

The study was carried out in a two year old Merlot/140 Ru and Cabernet Sauvignon/140 Ru vineyards during the 2004 growth season. Vines were spaced 2.4 m x 0.9 m in North-South orientated rows. Each vine had five to six shoots. The vineyards were drip irrigated (800 m 3/Ha/season). Shoots more than 100 cm were tipped or topped at pea berry size deve...

Somatic embryo and plant regeneration were induced from stigma and style culture of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sugraone). To obtain somatic embryogenesis, explants were cultured on Nitsch and Nitsch basal medium (NN) supplemented with 88 mM sucrose and various combinations of the auxin β-naphthoxyacetic acid (NOA, 0-10 μM)and the cytokinin 6-...

Cluster and shoot thinning was performed on four-year-old Nero d'Avola vines (Vitis vinifera L.), grafted on 1103 P, so as to leave on each vine, nine well-spaced shoots of similar length, each one with 1 bunch. Modifications of source-sink ratios were subsequently imposed when the berries reached pea-size by carrying out summer-pruning treatments....

Embryogenic calli formed from fertilized ovules of carob dissected from small legumes (20–25 mm in length) when cultured on MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium supplemented with sucrose (150mM), malt extract (500 mg l−1) and 6-benzylaminopurine (13.3μ.M). Nonaberrant somatic embryos formed when those calli were cultured onto MS medium supplemented with...

Sixteen carob cultivars were studied to evaluate pulp and seed yield with regard to endosperm percentage, to determine the overall degree of polymorphism of the characters and to detect similarities among cultivars. Bean size and numbers of normal and aborted seeds were characters with a certain degree of polymorphism. The low between-year variabil...

RC) Riassunto Si riferisce sull'attivita di individuazione e di selezione effettuata sui germoplasma siciliano di pesco nel corso dell'ultimo decennio. Tale attivita ha consentito di individuare diverse entita di pesco, in numero superiore a polpa bianca, e alcune di nettarine ("Sbergi"), di qual ita gustative buone 0 medie, di grande pezzatura nel...