ARI’s disease-resistant grape variety attracts farmers, wine companies

“This hybrid variety of grapes is tolerant to fungal diseases and is suitable for preparation of juice, raisins, jams and red wines. Farmers have been adopting and appreciating this variety and the area under cultivation and production has gone up by 100 acre in locations like Nashik and Solapur in Maharashtra,” Dr Tetali told The Indian Express. Companies like Grover Zampa vineyards in Nashik have also taken planting material from ARI.

“Our main objective was to make it a disease-tolerant variety. It is also being appreciated because of its unique flavour,” said Dr Prashant Dhakephalkar, the Director of ARI. The hybrid variety, ARI-516, has been developed by inter-crossing of two species from the same genus Vitis, Catawba variety of Vitis labrusca, and the beauty seedless variety of vitis vinifera. An early ripening hybrid, it matures in 110-120 days after pruning.

A book containing details of various varieties maintained at the farm at ARI at Hol village (85 km from Pune) was published last month at the 9th All India coordinated group discussion meeting of fruits.

“The variety ARI 516 is seeded but since there is a preference for seedless ones, we have also developed a seedless variety of ARI 516 by mutation. It has small to medium bluish blackberries with one rudimentary seed in each berry, which is sweet in taste and has a musky flavour with 65 to 70 per cent juice content. The berry yield is about 15-20 ton/acre and is tolerant to downy and powdery mildew disease as well as resistant to anthracnose disease, a group of fungal diseases that affect a variety of plants in warm humid areas,” Dr Tetali said.

Dr Tetali also said that a project on molecular characterisation of a seedless mutant in the grape’s variant ARI 516 and marker assisted selection for seedlessness in table grape breeding is also underway.