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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Nat'l Clonal Germplasm Rep - Tree Fruit & Nut Crops & Grapes » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #213642
Title: Table Grape Genetic Resources at the Davis California National Clonal Germplasm Repository

Author
item Stover, Eddie
item Aradhya, Mallikarjuna
item Prins, Bernard - Bernie

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2007
Publication Date: 7/1/2007
Citation: Stover, E.W., Aradhya, M.K., Prins, B.H. 2007. Table Grape Genetic Resources at the Davis California National Clonal Germplasm Repository. HortScience 42:833-834.

Interpretive Summary: The Davis, California National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) houses most Mediterranean-adapted fruit and nut crop collections in the U.S., including grapes (Vitis). The NCGR is part of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Our missions are to acquire, preserve, characterize and distribute germplasm resources of our designated crops. The NCGR grape collection includes 2926 different accessions, of which 1346 are considered table grapes. These include 574 named V. vinifera cultivars, 626 “hybrids” (203 American hybrids, 171 French hybrids and 52 V. rotundifolia hybrids and 113 advanced breeder selections), 23 V. labrusca cultivars and 123 V. rotundifolia. Among these are 94 seedless accessions and 62 tetraploids.

Technical Abstract: The amazing diversity in this collection offers opportunity for breeders to select parents providing a host of distinctive traits and also may provide interesting niche varieties for small acreage plantings. The table grape collection includes great variability for fruit color, bloom date, fruit ripening date, compactness of clusters, size of clusters, cold tolerance, disease tolerance/ resistance, crop size, plant vigor and many other traits. Grape breeders might be interested in vinifera traits such the huge clusters and berries of the ‘Uzbekistan Muscat’, the early ripening of ‘Yaghotti No 2’ or ‘Perlette’, or the long shelf life of ‘Calmeria’. Within hybrid accessions, interesting traits include the disease resistance of some varieties bred in Florida by Fennell and Mortensen, 45 cm-long clusters of ‘Koshu Sanjaku’, or unusual colors found in some labrusca hybrids. A niche marketer might be interested in French heirloom ‘Chassalas’ table grapes with their soft translucent skins, the enormous clusters of ‘Marvel of Vaucluse’, the albino berries with green rachis in ‘Sultana Marble’ or the intense perfume flavors of ‘Suavis’. They may also wish to target cultivars from specific countries for specialized ethnic markets. It is NPGS policy to distribute plant material, free of charge, to research interests around the world. Please contact us (http://www.ars.usda.gov/pwa/davis/npgs ) for further information.