Rootstock-Mediated Responses To Combined Salinity And Water Deficit
PhD research on physiology, metabolism, ion regulation, root-shoot traits, and agronomic performance in grafted Syrah.
This research investigates how rootstock variation shapes whole-plant stress responses in grafted grapevine under combined salinity and water-deficit stress.
The work integrates multi-season field and semi-controlled experiments with photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, water status, ion partitioning, metabolomics, phenology, and agronomic performance. A major emphasis is identifying physiological and metabolic tipping points that mark transitions from acclimation to stress-response modes.
The project supports trait discovery for climate-resilient viticulture by linking belowground processes with scion performance, yield components, and stress thresholds.
This project draws directly from the thesis work on responses of Vitis vinifera grafts to combined abiotic stress, with emphasis on physiology, metabolism, ion regulation, and rootstock effects.
Outputs
Published
- Metabolic network homeostasis and an antagonistic stress response drive rootstock-mediated tolerance to combined salinity and water deficit. Plant Stress, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.stress.2026.101456
- Rootstock choice modulates Syrah phenology and agronomic performance under combined salinity and water stress across three seasons. Plant Stress, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.stress.2025.101050
- Syrah crosses a distinct salinity tipping point before entering a stress-response mode. Plant Stress, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.stress.2025.100864
Conference abstracts
- Rootstock mediates Syrah metabolic and physiological responses to combined water deficit and salinity. OENO Macrowine 2023, Bordeaux. Abstract: IVES Open Science
- Rootstock shapes berry phenolic dynamics and wine quality in Syrah under combined salinity and water stress. OENO Macrowine 2023, Bordeaux. Poster abstract: IVES Open Science
- Salinity and water regime, mediated by rootstock, shape Syrah must metabolite profile and vine physiology. XIII International Symposium on Grapevine Breeding and Genetics, Julius Kühn-Institut, 2022. ISBN 978-3-95547-112-5.