Zeolite and irrigation treatments to mitigate the effects of climate change in viticulture

The main aspiration of soil management is to keep and retain a microenvironment that considers all vine requirements to upgrade the balance between vegetative growth and cluster quality intensifying its resilience toward abiotic stress. In this contest, this doctoral project lays its foundations. Firstly, ZeoWine, a new commercial product containing a mixture of organic compost and zeolite grew up with a view to a sustainable approach in viticulture that takes into account respect for the ecosystem and leads to greater vegetative-productive efficiency of the plant in a climate change scenario. In fact, the synergy of compost and zeolite could promote sustainable plant growth, yield, and product quality by protecting crops exposed to environmental stress conditions, such as drought and high temperatures. Furthermore, the main goal of this research is to achieve a balance between the sugar and phenolic maturity of berries. Secondly, this led to a more in-depth investigation into the beneficial effects that this "magic rock" has on plants. From here, due to the zeolitic property towards the water of gradual release, the research was oriented toward the physiological, biochemical, and genetic study of plants treated with pure zeolite under different water regimes. A better understanding of the interactions with the water balance is certainly a starting point that lays the foundations for further investigations. Therefore, it is possible to briefly summarize the objectives of the research as follows: 1. Assessing the efficacy of ZeoWine, a commercial product which includes organic compost and zeolite, in enhancing the balance of vegetative growth and bunch quality in vineyards, with a focus on increasing tolerance to abiotic stressors like as drought and high temperatures. 2. Investigating the complementary benefits of compost and zeolite in viticulture to promote sustainable plant development, yield, and grape quality, with the objective of better understanding the mechanisms involved in decreasing environmental stress. 3. Evaluating the effect of ZeoWine treatment on reaching a balance of sugar and phenolic compounds maturity in the berries, with the goal of optimising grapes quality and wine properties. 4. Investigating the biochemical, physiological, and genetic reactions of plants to the application of pure zeolite in various water supply, with an objective of better understanding the mechanisms governing water balance dynamics and their consequences for plant performance.