HORTIVAR database as a shared framework for grapevine watching worldwide

In grape growing, farmers generally base their cultivar choice merely on tradition or market trend. Proper cultivar identification may result in lower incidence of plant biotic and abiotic stresses, greater productions and peculiar quality parameters. To date, the wealth of information on grape cultivar performance worldwide has not yet found a shared framework and is therefore fragmented and not easily accessible. Furthermore, much of the information that can be accessed is difficult to evaluate since the methodologies applied for data recording widely vary. HORTIVAR is a horticultural crop cultivar performance database developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), suitable for recording information that assess the performance of crop cultivars in different agro-climatic environments. Being geo-referenced and linked to climatic historical series, it has potentialities to represent the lacking centralised information base for the recording and retrieval of data on the performance of grape cultivars throughout the world. HORTIVAR may enable grape growers to critically select optimal genotypes for their geo-climatic regions, and to have access to required practices in a range of growing systems. Besides, since users may contribute to the database with their own results, it may represent a lively information exchange platform, where grape growers may get connected and mapped as well as share knowledge and recommendations. HORTIVAR currently counts roughly 1900 entries from Vitis vinifera. Thanks to its partnerships with the universities and non-profit bodies involved, it is likely to become a unique tool for guiding the grape sector in strategic choices