NOVEL BRAZILIAN GRAPE CULTIVARS

Abstract

In Brazil, genetic breeding aiming at the development of novel grapevine cultivars is based on the diversity maintained in the Grapevine Germplasm Bank. It consists of approximately 1500 accessions; 1000 of them have been characterized and evaluated for the most important agronomical and industrial traits, such as disease responses and must features. The program employs mainly sexual hybridizations, followed by screening and field selection cycles. During the final stages of developing novel cultivars, advanced selections are tested under semi-commercial scale, in real production conditions. The agronomical characteristics and the features of the grapes, of the juice or of the wine from the potential cultivar, are evaluated in collaboration with growers. As a result, 18 grapevine cultivars were developed in the last years, contributing to several segments of the Brazilian grape productive chain. In 2012/2013, four novel grapevine cultivars were released; three are table grapes and the fourth, for juice making. ?BRS Magna? is a new juice cultivar with intermediate productive cycle and wide climatic adaptation, released as an alternative for color, sugar contents and the flavor improvement. ?BRS Vitoria? is a novel black seedless table grape cultivar presenting excellent agronomic behavior, high bud fertility and tolerance to downy mildew, the main grapevine disease in Brazil. ?BRS Isis? is a red seedless table grape, also tolerant to downy mildew, presenting high yields, naturally large berries and uniform color, in the absence of chemical treatments. ?BRS Nubia? is a seeded table grape, with good black color and neutral flavor. It is high yielding and presents large berries (24×34 mm, no gibberellin) with crisp flesh. The three novel table grapes are recommended to Brazilian subtropical and tropical areas.