Application of biostimulant products and biological control agents in sustainable viticulture: A review

Current and continuing climate change in the Anthropocene epoch requires sustainable agricultural practices. Additionally, due to changing consumer preferences, organic approaches to cultivation are gaining popularity. The global market for organic grapes, grape products, and wine is growing. Biostimulant and biocontrol products are often applied in organic vineyards and can reduce the synthetic fertilizer, pesticide, and fungicide requirements of a vineyard. Plant growth promotion following application is also observed under a variety of challenging conditions associated with global warming. This paper reviews different groups of biostimulants and their effects on viticulture, including microorganisms, protein hydrolysates, humic acids, pyrogenic materials, and seaweed extracts. Of special interest are biostimulants with utility in protecting plants against the effects of climate change, including drought and heat stress. While many beneficial effects have been reported following the application of these materials, most studies lack a mechanistic explanation, and important parameters are often undefined (e.g., soil characteristics and nutrient availability). We recommend an increased study of the underlying mechanisms of these products to enable the selection of proper biostimulants, application methods, and dosage in viticulture. A detailed understanding of processes dictating beneficial effects in vineyards following application may allow for biostimulants with increased efficacy, uptake, and sustainability.KJ wishes to acknowledge financial support (3710473400); MS-M thanks to RTI2018-099417-B-I00 (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities cofunded with EU FEDER funds); JB wish to acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico/Brasil (CNPQ process number 309477/2021-2); RO-H is supported by the Ramón y Cajal program from the MICINN (RYC-2017 22032), PAIDI 2020 (Ref. 20_00323), AEI GGOO 2020 (GOPC-CA-20-0001), “José Castillejo” program from the “Ministerio de Universidades” (CAS21/00125) and PID2019-106004RA-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. SM and GT thanks to Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant PID2020-114330GB-100). PAIDI2020 from Junta de Andalucía, grant P18-RT-1401 to SM, MD, and GT is also acknowledged. GT acknowledge the support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI)

Nature-Based Solutions as Building Blocks for the Transition towards Sustainable Climate-Resilient Food Systems

Food systems—encompassing food production, transportation, processing and consumption, including food losses and waste—are currently not delivering what is expected or needed to ensure their full contribution to societal well-being and ecological sustainability. In this paper, we hypothesize that nature-based solutions (NBS; solutions that are inspired by, supported by, or copied from nature) can overcome system challenges related to the functioning of the biosphere, society, or economy (including governance arrangements), and support a transition to sustainable climate-resilient food systems. We develop a conceptual framework to assess NBS contributions to such transitions. Three types of NBS are evaluated: intrinsic NBS which make use of existing ecosystems; hybrid NBS which manage and adapt ecosystems; and inspired NBS which consist of newly constructed ecosystems. We show that inspired NBS in particular will increase opportunities to achieve sustainable development in food systems. NBS can facilitate the much-needed transition to a different way of using our natural resources to reach the SDGs by 2030. We identify the knowledge gaps that impede the development of NBS to support a transition towards sustainable, climate-resilient food systems