Coping with heatwaves: management strategies for berry survival and vineyard resilience

This article summarises recent findings on the impact of high and extreme high temperatures on berry physiology and composition in order to better predict when berries are most at risk, helping growers to fine-tune the timing of mitigation strategies for more optimal and cost-effective protection. This knowledge provides thresholds to aim at, through canopy management and heat mitigation interventions in the vineyard. This will indicate which strategic interventions during which critical phenological stages can significantly mitigate the adverse effects of heatwaves on berry quality and yield. In the longer term, it provides a planning threshold at which such actions will no longer be sufficient to counteract rising temperatures, and a more informed approach for relocating vineyards or re-planting with more heat-tolerant varieties.