Do grapevines like water? How much do they like? When do they like more?
University of Nova Gorica invites to the public lecture Do grapevines like water? How much do they like? When do they like more? by Prof. Dr. Paolo Sivilotti (University of Udine, Italy).
Lecture will take place on Tuesday, 28 October 2025, at 5 p.m. at the the Lanthieri mansion in Vipava.
This will be followed by a discussion with the lecturer, moderated by Doc. Dr. Jan Reščič.
Lecture will be in English.
Warmly welcome!
Lecture summary:
Water is essential for life, but grapevines can survive under water stress conditions improving the quality of the wines. Water stress can be measured with simple tools, such as Scholander camera, and at pre-dawn we could estimate its availability in the soil, while at midday the evaporative demand of the atmosphere. During growing season, early water stress is particularly effective since adaptation mechanisms are adopted by grapevines increasing their resilience to drought. Among them, root growth can be significantly impacted by season course, but on the other hand complicates the assessment of vineyard water balance and thus irrigation requirements. The lecture will combine basic knowledge on water dynamics, physiological aspects, remote sensing tools, and the opportunity to adopt decision support systems to create different scenarios of water deficit together with their implications on grape and wine quality.