New rootstocks targeting drought tolerance, improved water use and wine quality

摘要

ROOTSTOCKS CAN INCREASE resilience to abiotic stresses such as salinity, water stress and potentially improve water use efficiency. Under the learned eye of CSIRO research scientist, Peter Clingeleffer, who is heading up its current rootstock breedingprogram, Australian winegrape rootstocks are moving in a new direction. Vine rootstock breeding by CSIRO began in the 1960s at CSIRO Merbein, where a diverse range of species material and rootstock was imported and maintained for this purpose. Today, more than 2000 rootstock selections have been bred and studied since the program's inception. Its aim was simple - to develop new rootstocks that produced grafted vines that improved fruit quality and were tolerant of nematodes, phylloxera and salinity.