Journal of Applied Horticulture. 2002: 4(1): 60-62

Evaluation of early-ripening grape genotypes under subtropical North Indian conditions

Ram Kumar; Shailendra Rajan; Negi, S S

Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, P.O. Kakori, Rehmankhera, Lucknow - 227 107, India.

The yield and quality of 14 early-ripening grape cultivars, planted during 1995 in Rehmankhera, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, were evaluated during 1997-2000 to identify the most suitable cultivars for North Indian plains, where pre-monsoon showers is a limiting factor for grape cultivation. The period of bud sprouting and ripening varied with the year and cultivar. Bud sprouting (20 February-5 March) and fruit ripening (16 May-5 June) were earliest in Beauty Seedless. BA x Per-75-32, Gold, Delight and Kishmish Beli exhibited late fruit ripening. Flame Seedless and Pusa Navrang were high-yielding, and the mean annual yield of these cultivars was approximately 20 kg per vine. Both cultivars, which were resilient to damage by heavy rains, exhibited phenotypic yield stability even under unfavourable conditions. Cardinal (5.40-8.61 kg per vine), Kishmish Charani (4.69-12.66 kg per vine), Beauty Seedless (1.13-22.63 kg per vine), Pusa Seedless (5.02-7.13 kg per vine), Gold (1.36-8.88 kg per vine) and New Perlette (2.69-9.84 kg per vine) had moderate yields, whereas Pusa Urvashi (1.20-2.89 kg per vine) and Kishmish Beli (1.15-3.04 kf per vine) had low yields. Hybrid BA x BS-71-50 did not produce fruits. The highest bunch weight was recorded for Pusa Seedless (279.75 g). Cardinal had the highest berry weight (3.01 g). The fruits of Kishmish Beli were characterized by the lowest acidity (0.44%). The results suggest that Flame Seedless, which had high fruit yield, number of bunches and bunch weight, was the most suitable for cultivation under Lucknow conditions.