Grapevine breeding for tropical and subtropical environments in Brazil (original) (raw)

2008, … de la Vigne et du Vin

Since the decade of the 1960s, viticulture has gained significance in different hot climate regions.The quality of table grapes, wines and juices produced under tropical and subtropical conditionsin countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, India and Thailand has begun receiving international recognition. Since tropical viticulture allows programming harvests for any day of the year, it offers prospects for great expansion, be it for a continuous market supply with table grapes, be it for making possible the production of large amounts of wines and juices in small industrial plants. In tropical viticulture, usually traditional grape varieties of the temperate zones are used, which, generally, present adaptation problems in hot climates (bud dormancy, apical dominance, low fertility, susceptibility to diseases, unbalanced vigor), limiting the number of varieties suitable for cultivation in these regions. In order to foment the development of the Brazilian tropical viticulture, the National Research Center for Grape and Wine of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (Embrapa) carries out a genetic grape breeding program, aiming at creation of new cultivars which combine adaptation to tropical environments, fruit quality according to its purpose (table grapes, juice, wine), productivity and disease resistance. The classic breeding method consisting of crossings and selection is used, combined with biotechnological techniques in both the process of generating populations and the selection procedures. In this paper the methodological procedures and the seven new, already released varieties for tropical climates are presented, three of which are seedless table grapes, two are grapes for wine and two for juice.