Breeding for Ukrainian table grape varieties

Abstract

The breeding program of the National Institute for Vine and Wine Magarach aims to obtain new high quality grapes (comparable to Vitis vinifera L. varieties) with stable yields and better resistance to fungal diseases, phylloxera and frost damages. Effective grapevine breeding programs should be based on genetic knowledge (CANCELLIER et al. 1990, BESLIC et al. 2009, IBANEZ et al. 2009). This paper reports results of an inheritance study of ripening time and berry weight in the hybrid progeny of table grapes. Material and Methods: The study was done on 3704 hybrid seedlings obtained from 10 cross-combinations. Hybridization was made as follows: each female parent was crossed with different male parents, and each male parent was crossed with different female parents. The varieties 'Podarok Zaporozh'iu', 'Talisman', 'Flamingo' and 'Flora' were used as female parents. The varieties 'Arcadia', 'Richelieu', 'Novyi Podarok Zaporozh'iu', 'Tomaiskii', 'Cardinal', 'Nakhodka Mariupolia' and 'Elegant super early' were used as male parents. Most of these varieties are complex interspecific hybrids with a percentage of V. vinifera derived from different eco-geographical groups (NEGRUL 1946). For each progeny, the breeding effect was assessed as the percentage of seedlings with early ripening time and average berry weight higher than 6 grams. Ripening time and berry weight of the studied seedlings were described according to the OIV Official List (O.I.V. 2001). For data processing Microsoft Office Package processor with Excel standard functions was used. Results and Discussion: The inheritance of desired traits and their expression in the progenies characterize the genetic potential of parent varieties. The viability of seeds, the percentage of seedlings with early ripening time and large berry weight and the breeding effect of the studied cross-combinations are shown in the Table. The mediumseason ripening variety 'Podarok Zaporozh'iu' gave the highest percentage of full-viable seeds (more than 90 %), followed by the early to mid-ripening variety 'Talisman' and the medium-late variety 'Flamingo' (ranging from 80 to 90 % of full-viable seeds). The lowest percentage of viable seeds (58-61%) was given by the early ripening variety 'Flora'. In general, very early ripening female parents did not provide a high germination of seeds. On the other hand, the highest percentage of viable seeds was found in progenies of mid-ripening male parents. Thus, crossings of early ripening female parents with middle-season ripening male parents are considered the optimal combinations. The combining ability of the parents affected the percentage of seedlings with early ripening time. The percent