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Create Grapevine Breeding Programs for Extreme Weather Adaptation

Climate change is creating weather extremes that exceed the tolerance ranges of traditional grape varieties, threatening wine production in established regions while creating opportunities in previously unsuitable areas. The challenge is developing grape varieties that can withstand extreme heat, cold, drought, flooding, and severe weather events while maintaining wine quality characteristics. This requires advanced breeding techniques, stress physiology research, and long-term field testing across diverse environments. Current breeding programs are too slow to keep pace with rapidly changing climate conditions, while the genetic base of wine grapes is relatively narrow, limiting adaptation potential. Technical barriers include accelerating breeding cycles, expanding genetic diversity, and predicting future climate conditions for breeding targets. Success would ensure wine production viability under changing climate conditions, preserve the wine industry in vulnerable regions, enable expansion into new suitable areas, and provide genetic resources for other perennial crops facing similar climate adaptation challenges in an era of unprecedented environmental change.

Applied Sciences, Specialized Agriculture, Viticulture & Enology