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Leaf water potential (LWP) is widely used to assess plant water status and it is commonly used by growers to make immediate crop and water management decisions. However, LWP measurement via direct method presents challenges as it is labour, time intensive and represents leaf-level conditions for sampling of small vineyard block. An alternative approach is using pigment concentration as a proxy for the canopy’s water status. Spectral data methods have been applied to monitor and evaluate crops’ biophysical variables. In this study, a model to predict LWP using via UAS equipped with a VIS-NIR multispectral camera and trained machine learning algorithm, is developed and tested. The model was tested on three dates in 2020 in a commercial vineyard in the Tufo Wine Region. Three modelling approaches (partial least square regression PLSR, support vector machine SVM, artificial neural network ANN) and two input datasets (combining spectral data and spectral vegetation indices) were used to estimate LWP. All approaches predicted LWP-based on spectral data classified from high to low; the results were consistent in direct proportion to the laboratory results and performed the best results. This research shows the potential for estimating LWP at a vineyard scale based on UAS information, represents a good and relatively cheap solution to assess plant status spatial distribution and therefore it could provide a direct way to achieve precise agricultural vineyard.

The pedo-climatic conditions can determine the grape varieties that can be cultivated as well as have deep influence on wine quality. Climate change has already caused significant warming and drought in most grape-growing areas of the world, particularly in the Mediterranean area where viticulture is suffering yield and grape quality reductions due to the increased frequency and duration of drought periods. Ongoing climate change is aggravating some critical issues in the production of the autochthonous grape variety 'Greco' (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. vinifera), widely cultivated in the Campania Region (southern Italy) and used alone or blend in many quality label wines. Nowadays, there is a high risk for the economic sustainability of Greco cultivation due to the following main issues: reduced vine productivity, low selling price of grapes, and territory fragmentation. Such criticisms induce the abandonment of small/medium-sized farms due to either crop conversion or consolidation into larger farms.Although pedo-climatic conditions can affect vineyard productivity and grape quality primarily, the application of adequate cultivation techniques, such as soil and canopy management, can help alleviating the increasing constrains to vineyard sustainability. In the framework of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, Campania Region funded the GREASE project to contribute to the main topic of improving grapevine productivity, resource use efficiency, and resilience for the sustainable management of vineyards.The general objective of Grease project is to improve the potential production of Greco concerns the management of major cultivation practices in viticulture by the realization of a cultivar-specific model for vine canopy and soil management. Optimization of such cultivation factors is important in order to achieve a good vegetative and reproductive balance that enhances grape and wine quality, improves farm profitability and finally provides environmental sustainability. The project is carried out in a Greco experimental vineyard of Feudi di San Gregorio winery in southern Italy (Avellino, Campania region). One of the main activities is to analyse the effect of soil management and vine training systems on the continuum soil-plant-atmosphere system. The growth and the eco-physiological traits of vines were monitored in the main phenological phases by measuring morphological parameters, fertility, leaf gas-exchanges, chlorophyll a fluorescence emission, leaf water potentials, and leaf anatomical characteristics. The meteorological data and soil water content were collected through weather stations and time-domain reflectometry (TDR) technique. Proximal sensing techniques were applied to monitor the whole vineyard performances. The production of each experimental plot was evaluated in terms of chemical characterization of musts and wines in order to assess the treatments-induced changes in oenological traits.The preliminary results of two-years experimental trials are presented to highlighting how the canopy and soil management can influence the vine eco-physiological behavior and productive performance.An increased understanding of how cultivation factors influence the efficient use of available resources in the Greco vineyard will allow know-how transfer to other grapevine productive systems.

Primula palinuri Petagna is the only Mediterranean and maritime species in the genus Primula, is endemic to coastal cliffs of southern Italy, and is classified as endangered with a decreasing population trend in the IUCN Red List. For this species, the major bottleneck for long-term survival has been recognized to be recruitment failure. In this study, we investigated the seed release strategy of P. palinuri, by using field observations and laboratory experiments. We hypothesized that repetitive cycles of wet/dry conditions and external wax removal could be the environmental triggers of capsule dehiscence. Data showed that capsules treated with wet/dry cycles dehisced within 75 days, while none subjected to constant dry conditions dehisced. Once dehisced, capsules repetitively closed when made wet, and opened again upon drying. Seeds of P. palinuri can remain on plant up to 2 years, over which time capsules reclose when rained upon and reopen upon drying, highlighting the first reported occurrence of serotiny in a Primula species. Serotiny allows P. palinuri to face the dry season, by avoiding capsule dehiscence during the summer dry period and delaying seed release until the beginning of fall, when water availability in the soil is generally no longer a limiting factor.

Cliffs are reservoirs of biodiversity, therefore, many plant species and communities of inland and coastal cliffs are protected by Council Directive 92/43/EEC (European Economic Community), and their monitoring is mandatory in European Union countries. Surveying plants on coastal cliff by traditional methods is challenging and alternatives are needed. We tested the use of a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as an alternative survey tool, gathering aerial images of cliffs at Palinuro Cape (Southern Italy). Four photo-interpreters analysed independently the derived orthomosaic and plotted data needed for the monitoring activity. Data showed to be not affected by photo-interpreters and reliable for the prescribed monitoring in the European Union (EU). Using the GIS analysis tools, we were able to: (a) recognise and map the plant species, (b) derive and measure the area of distribution on the cliff of habitat and species, and (c) count Eokochia saxicola individuals and gather quantitative data on their projected area. Quality of the images represented the main constraint, but incoming technological improvements of sensors and UAVs may overcome this problem. Overall results support the use of UAVs as an affordable and fast survey technique that can rapidly increase the number of studies on cliff habitats and improve ecological knowledge on their plant species and communities.