Publications by authors named "Vivian Zufferey"

Weeds reduce vineyard productivity and affect grape quality by competing with grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) for water and nutrients. The increased banning of herbicides has prompted the evaluation of alternative soil management strategies.

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The evolution of sequencing technology and multiplexing has rapidly expanded our ability to characterize fungal diversity in the environment. However, obtaining an unbiased assessment of the fungal community using ribosomal markers remains challenging. Longer amplicons were shown to improve taxonomic resolution and resolve ambiguities by reducing the risk of spurious operational taxonomic units.

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Article Synopsis
  • Grapevine leafroll disease (GLD) is caused mainly by GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3, posing significant economic risks in viticulture.
  • The study compared the effects of mildly and severely symptomatic GLD forms against a control in 17-year-old Pinot noir vines, revealing differences in vine vigor, yield, and berry quality.
  • It identified three distinct virome compositions, including previously unreported viruses, and raised concerns about the accuracy of biological indexing methods in detecting symptoms related to specific viruses.
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We investigated the within- and between-leaf variability in the carbon and nitrogen isotope composition (δC and δN) and total nitrogen (TN) content in two grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera cv. Chasselas and Pinot noir) field-grown under rain-fed conditions. The within-leaf variability was studied in discs sampled from base-to-tip and left and right regions from the margin to midrib.

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Changes in leaf carbon and nitrogen isotope composition (δC and δN values) and the accumulation of epicuticular lipids have been associated with plant responses to water stress. We investigated their potential use as indicators of early plant water deficit in two grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars, Chasselas and Pinot noir, that were field-grown under well-watered and water-deficient conditions.

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Nitrogen deficit affects both crop production and composition, particularly in crops requiring an optimal fruit N content for aroma development. The adaptation of cultural practices to improve N use efficiency (NUE) (i.e.

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Nitrogen deficit affects both crop production and composition, particularly in crops requiring an optimal fruit N content for aroma development. The adaptation of cultural practices to improve N use efficiency (NUE) (i.e.

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Recently, we reported that the carbon isotope composition of the solid residues obtained by freeze-drying white and red wines (δC) could be used for tracing the water status of the vines whose grapes were used to produce them. Here, we compare different methods using δC values of other wine components, particularly those of whole wine (δC) obtained by elemental analysis and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA/IRMS) and of wine ethanol (δC) obtained by gas chromatography/combustion/IRMS (GC/C/IRMS), for their suitability to assess the vine water status. The studied wines were obtained from field-grown cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.

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Grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) is a recently described virus that infects grapevine. Little information is available on the possible occurrence and distribution outside North America. Therefore, we surveyed commercial vineyards from the three major grape-growing regions in Switzerland to determine the presence or absence of GRBV.

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The grapevine is one of the most important edible fruit plants cultivated worldwide, and it is highly sensitive to changes in the soil water content. We studied the total carbon and nitrogen contents and stable isotope compositions (C/N, δC and δN values) of the solid residues obtained by freeze-drying wines produced from two white grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L. cv Chasselas and Petite Arvine) field grown under different soil water regimes while maintaining other climatic and ecopedological conditions identical.

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This paper describes a novel approach to reassess the water status in vineyards based on compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of wine volatile organic compounds (δC) and bulk carbon and nitrogen isotopes, and the C/N molar ratios of the wine solid residues (δC, δN). These analyses link gas chromatography/combustion and elemental analysis to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS, EA/IRMS). Field-grown cultivars of Pinot Noir grapevines were exposed during six growing seasons (2009-2014) to controlled soil water availability, while maintaining identical the other environmental variables and agricultural techniques.

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Hydraulic conductance and water transport in plants may be affected by environmental factors, which in turn regulate leaf gas exchange, plant growth and yield. In this study, we assessed the combined effects of radiation and water regimes on leaf stomatal conductance (gs), petiole specific hydraulic conductivity (Kpetiole) and anatomy (vessel number and size); and leaf aquaporin gene expression of field-grown grapevines at the Agroscope Research Station (Leytron, Switzerland). Chasselas vines were subjected to two radiation (sun and shade) levels combined with two water (irrigated and water-stressed) regimes.

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Recent climatic trends of higher average temperatures and erratic precipitation patterns are resulting in decreased soil moisture availability and, consequently, periods of water stress. We studied the effects of seasonal water stress on grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv.

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Plants can be highly segmented organisms with an independently redundant design of organs. In the context of plant hydraulics, leaves may be less embolism resistant than stems, allowing hydraulic failure to be restricted to distal organs that can be readily replaced. We quantified drought-induced embolism in needles and stems of Pinus pinaster using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT).

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