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Mycorrhizae and grapevines: the known unknowns of their interaction for wine growers’ challenges

Summary

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi form beneficial partnerships with grapevine roots, helping plants absorb water and nutrients while improving stress tolerance. These fungi relationships begin in plant nurseries and continue in vineyards, but their effectiveness depends on the specific fungus species, vine variety, and farming practices like soil management and herbicide use. Using these fungi as biological stimulants could help grapevines cope with climate change challenges like drought and heat, though more field studies are needed to confirm their practical benefits.

Background

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish symbiotic relationships with grapevine roots and play important roles in vineyard production systems. However, understanding how these relationships are established in nurseries and how soil management practices modify this symbiosis remains limited. This review examines the establishment and effectiveness of grapevine-AMF interactions across production stages.

Objective

To review current knowledge on the establishment of grapevine-AMF relationships from nursery to field, identify main factors affecting symbiosis effectiveness, explore AMF’s potential role as biostimulants in grapevine production, and discuss future perspectives of AMF use in climate change contexts.

Results

The review identifies that mycorrhizal symbiosis establishment is complex and depends on fungal identity, grapevine genotype diversity, soil management, and rootstock-specific compatibility. AMF inoculation shows benefits under controlled conditions for growth and stress tolerance, though field results are variable. Cover crops and minimum tillage favor AMF communities, while herbicides negatively impact them.

Conclusion

While AMF show promise as biostimulants for grapevine production under climate change conditions, critical gaps remain in understanding nursery-to-field symbiosis transitions, molecular signaling mechanisms, and field-level applications. Future research should focus on protecting native AMF communities and conducting more field-based studies to validate greenhouse findings.
  • Published in:Journal of Experimental Botany,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 10.1093/jxb/eraf081, PMID: 40066981
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