Abstract
The development and evaluation of new cultivars of seedless grapes (Vitis spp.) with good yield and adapted to different edaphoclimatic conditions are essential to increase the competitiveness of the productive system. The present work had the objective to characterize the phenology and the yield of the new hybrid seedless grape ‘BRS Melodia’, grown in an annual double cropping system in a subtropical region. The evaluations were carried out during the 2013 summer cropping period and the 2014 off-season cropping period in a commercial area located in Marialva, PR, Brazil. The ‘BRS Melodia’ scions were grafted onto ‘IAC 766 Campinas’ rootstocks, trained in an overhead trellis system spaced at 2.5 × 2.5 m. In both seasons, the duration in days of the main phenological phases of the vines, as well as their thermal demand and their physicochemical and productive characteristics were evaluated. The ‘BRS Melodia’ seedless grapevines presented a cycle of 138 days and yield of 23.85 tons.ha−1 in the summer season, and 121 days and yield of 19.4 tons.ha−1 in the off-season crop. The soluble solids, titratable acidity, and maturation index were 15.1 °Brix, 0.5% tartaric acid and 28.5, respectively, in the summer season and 15.4 °Brix, 0.6% tartaric acid and 25.6 in the off-season crop, indicating a possibility of cultivate this new hybrid seedless grape under an annual double cropping system in subtropical conditions.
Highlights
Until the end of the 1990s, the Brazilian production of table grapes (Vitis spp.) remained limited to seeded cultivars
In a system of intensive production of table grapes, with annual double cropping systems in subtropical regions, the cycle of vines is generally reduced in the off-season crop due to climatic conditions, mainly by air temperature, since the vine has an intense metabolism leading to budburst following summer pruning, unlike budburst following winter pruning when the grapevines are dormant [10]
Long days may lead to the endogenous synthesis of gibberellins, which are known to antagonize the effects of abscisic acid (ABA) and promote budburst
Summary
Until the end of the 1990s, the Brazilian production of table grapes (Vitis spp.) remained limited to seeded cultivars. In order to attend the overseas market, several seedless grapes, such as ‘Superior Seedless’, ‘Thompson Seedless’ and ‘Crimson Seedless’, were introduced in the country. All of these cultivars were brought from temperate regions and, for this reason, most of them presented difficulties in achieving sustainable and high yields. Wine started the Grape Breeding Program in 1997 aiming to develop hybrid seedless table cultivars adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions with the quality required by the international and domestic markets [1,2]. In 2003, the first seedless grape cultivars were released, among them the ‘BRS Morena’, ‘BRS Clara’. In 2012 and 2013, the ‘BRS Vitoria’ and ‘BRS Isis’ seedless grape cultivars, respectively, were released, which are tolerant to downy mildew, one of the main grape diseases in humid regions [2,3]
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