Unraveling the Physiological Mechanisms Underlying the Intracultivar Variability of Water Use Efficiency in Vitis vinifera “Grenache”

Selecting genotypes with a better capacity to respond and adapt to soil water deficits is essential to achieve the sustainability of grapevine cultivation in the context of increasing water scarcity. However, cultivar changes are very poorly accepted, and therefore it is particularly interesting to explore the intracultivar genetic diversity in water use efficiency (WUE). In previous studies, the cultivar “Grenache” has shown up to 30% variability in WUE. This research aimed to confirm the intracultivar variability and to elucidate the traits underlying this variability in the response to a water deficit by analyzing the growth rates, water relations, osmotic potential, leaf morphology, leaf gas exchange and carbon isotope discrimination in nine “Grenache” genotypes grown in pots during two seasons. The results showed lower differences in WUE and carbon isotope ratio than in previous field studies, but fairly good consistency in genotype ranking. Leaf mass area and osmotic potential did not underlie differences in stem water potential and in stomatal conductance. Overall, stomatal regulation and photosynthetic capacity seem to underlie differences in WUE among genotypes with an important environmental influence. These results confirm the ability to select clones with higher WUE and present an opportunity for the genetic improvement of WUE in grapevines.