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Commercial Fresh Market, Wine, Juice, and Jelly Grape Cultivars for Florida

J. Breman, P. C. Andersen, M. A. Shahid, and A. Sarkhosh

Commercial grape production requires cultivars that have high yield and quality and are also adapted to Florida's unique soils, weather, insects, and disease pressures. Other desired cultivar characteristics depend upon type of market and use. Fresh-fruit markets require a large-sized grape with high sugar content, a pleasing taste, an attractive, thin skin, and a dry scar-end that allows the grapes a minimum of one week of shelf life (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100). Wine, juice, and jelly cultivars require consistently high yields. For muscadine cultivars to be economically viable, commercial yields should be at 6 to 8 tons/acre. Berries must have a minimum of 14° Brix at harvest and a favorable sugar-to-acid ratio (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100). Color stability and the ability to maintain a good taste in the finished product are also requirements for grape juice or wine. For more information about grape production in Florida, visit https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/grape/. This article provides a general overview on the commercial fresh market, wine and juice grape cultivars for county and state Extension faculty, grape growers, homeowners and students who are interested in growing grapes in Florida.

Black (top) and) bronze (bottom) color muscadine grapes grown at UF/IFAS Plant Scinece and Education Unit, Citra, FL.
Figure 1. Black (top) and) bronze (bottom) color muscadine grapes grown at UF/IFAS Plant Science and Education Unit, Citra, FL.
Credit: D. Huff, UF/IFAS

Southern bunch grapes (Vitis sp. hybrids) have been bred for resistance to Pierce's disease (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/mg105). Pierce's disease is caused by a bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa. Most southern bunch grapes require a spray program for fungal diseases, especially during wet growing seasons. Perhaps the most serious disease of bunch grapes is anthracnose (Elsinoe ampelina [deBary] Shear). One advantage of bunch grapes is that they are all self-fruitful and do not require pollinizer rows planted next to them.

Muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia) may only need an occasional fungicidal spray or none at all, depending on the rainfall during the growing season and the disease problem (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100, https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/grape/production/diseases-and-pest-insect-control/). A disadvantage of muscadine grapes is that many of the large-fruited cultivars are pistillate, or female, and require self-fruitful companion rows in order to pollinize flowers sufficiently for commercial berry yields (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100). Self-fruitful cultivars may often yield 40%–50% more berries than female cultivars. However, many female cultivars tend to have larger berries, which is important for the commercial fresh-fruit market.

Grape root borer is the main insect pest for both bunch and muscadine grapes. Other insects may become minor problems, depending on the season (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100). For more detailed information on insect and disease pests of grapes, refer to https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100 and https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/grape/production/diseases-and-pest-insect-control/.

Cultivars for processing are listed in Tables 1 and 2. All listed cultivars are self-fruitful. Bunch weights are listed for bunch grapes only. A large bunch grape berry would be equivalent to a small muscadine grape berry.

Cultivars recommended by UF/IFAS for the fresh market are listed in Table 3. The type of pollination is identified for each cultivar to help the producer plan the vineyard rows. Rows of self-fruitful cultivars can be planted next to rows of female cultivars to increase berry yield.

Fresh-market muscadine cultivars recommended for trial plantings are listed in Table 4. Limited trial plantings are recommended before expanding acreage to determine whether those cultivars are adapted to the grower's location. Additional cultivar information can be obtained from the EDIS publication The Muscadine Grape (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100).

A successful fresh-market cultivar (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS100) also must have high consumer preference. 'Fry', the cultivar standard for the fresh-market industry, and recommended cultivars 'Tara' and 'Southern Home' were compared to berries from trial plantings of 'Ison' and 'Nesbitt' in a controlled consumer-panel test (Breman et al. 2007). The ratings ranged from 1, the lowest, to 9, the highest. Results of that test are presented in Table 3. 'Ison' and 'Nesbitt' were rated higher than 'Fry', but the difference was not statistically significant. 'Tara' and 'Southern Home' were rated significantly lower than 'Fry'. Consumer ratings of berry color, sweetness, and flavor were indicators of the overall cultivar-preference score.

Commercial producers for the fresh market might consider consumer preferences before expanding their plantings of any cultivar. Data in Table 5 show that two trial cultivars, 'Ison' and 'Nesbitt', were significantly more preferred by consumers over 'Tara' and 'Southern Home'.

References

Andersen, P. C. 2017. “The Bunch Grape.” EDIS 2017 (3). https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/mg105

Andersen, P. C., A. Sarkhosh, D. Huff, and J. Breman. 2020. “The Muscadine Grape (Vitis rotundifolia Michx).” EDIS 2020 (6). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-hs100-2020

Breman, J. W., A. Simonne, R. C. Hochmuth, L. Landrum, M. Taylor, K. Evans, C. Peavy, and D. Goode. 2007. "Quality Characteristics of Selected Muscadine Grape Cultivars Grown in North Florida." Proceedings of the Florida State Horticulture Society 120:8–10.

Cline, W. O. 2010. "2010 Southeast Regional Muscadine Grape Integrated Management Guide." https://grapes.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2010-muscadine-IMG-Draft-2feb2010-_Cline_-2.pdf?fwd=no

Table 1. Commercial wine cultivars.

Grape Type

Color

Cultivar

Type

Berry Size

Berry Weight

(grams)

Bunch Weight

(grams)

Bunch

Black

Black Spanish

SF

Small-to-Medium

2.5

---

Light green

Stover

Blanc du Bois

Suwannee

Lake Emerald

Blanc du Soleil

SF

SF

SF

SF

SF

Small-to-Medium

Medium

Medium

Small

Medium

2.3

2.9

3.0

1.8

2.5

117

133

113

184

----

Muscadine

Black

Alachua

Noble

SF

SF

Medium

Small

6.5

4.0

---

---

Bronze

Carlos

Welder

SF

SF

Medium

Small

5.0

4.2

---

---

SF = Self-fruitful

Table 2. Commercial juice and jelly cultivars.

Grape Type

Color

Cultivar

Type

Berry size

Berry

Weight

(grams)

Bunch

Weight

(grams)

Bunch

Purple

Conquistador

Blue Lake

SF

SF

Small-to-Medium

Small

2.5

2.0

118

122

Light green

Suwannee

Lake Emerald

SF

SF

Medium

Small

3.0

1.8

113

184

Muscadine

Black

Alachua

Noble

SF

SF

Medium

Small

7.0

4.0

---

---

Bronze

Carlos

Welder

SF

SF

Medium

Small

5.6

4.2

---

---

SF = Self-fruitful

Applies only to bunch grapes

Table 3. Muscadine cultivars recommended for commercial fresh market.

Color

Cultivar

Type

Berry Size

Berry Weight (grams)

Black

Black Beauty

Black Fry

Southern Home

Delicious

Southern Jewel

F

F

SF

SF

SF

Very Large

Large

Medium

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

12.5

12.5

7.0

10.2

11

Dark purple

Polyanna

Supreme

Farrer

Paulk

SF

F

F

SF

Medium-to-Large

Very Large

Large

Very Large

10.7

17

12.5

15

Bronze

Hall

Fry

Granny Val

Pineapple

Summit

Sweet Jenny

Tara

Pam

SF

SF

SF

F

F

SF

F

F

Medium-to-Large

Large

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Very Large

Very Large

10

12.5

10.0

10.0

10.4

10.0

15.0

18.7

SF = Self-fruitful

F = Female

Table 4. Fresh-market muscadine cultivars for planting on a trial basis.

Color

Cultivar

Type of

Pollination

Berry Size

Berry Weight

(grams)

Black

African Queen

Ison

Nesbitt

Delicious

Eudora

Majesty

Southern Jewel

F

SF

SF

SF

F

F

SF

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Medium-to-Large

Large

Medium-to-Large

 

11.5

11.5

10.1

10.2

10.0

16.0

11.0

Purple

Creek

SF

Small

3.0

Red

Big Red

F

Large

12.5

Pink

Darlene

F

Very Large

15.0

Bronze

Doreen

Early Fry

Florida Fry

Golden Isles

SF

F

SF

SF

Small-to-Medium

Large

Medium-to-Large

Small-to-Medium

5.0

12.5

11.5

6.5

SF = Self-fruitful

F = Female

Table 5. Sensory evaluation results of selected standard and trial fresh-market muscadine grape cultivars.

Cultivar

Fruit

Color

Color

Sweetness

Sourness

Flavor

Firmness

Overall

Preference

Ison

Black

6.6a*

5.7a

4.8a

5.9a

5.7b

6.3a

Nesbitt

Black

6.4ab

6.2a

4.8a

5.8a

5.2bc

5.9a

Fry

Bronze

5.9b

5.8a

5.0a

5.8a

5.6b

5.8a

Tara

Bronze

5.1c

4.5b

4.3a

4.8b

4.7c

4.9b

Southern Home

Black

4.8c

4.8b

4.3a

4.8b

6.3a

4.9b

*Means separation in columns by Duncan's multiple range test, at 95% confidence level. Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different. Subjects balanced for age and gender. Total consumer panel number (n) = 75.

 

Publication #HS1152

Release Date:December 6, 2022

Related Experts

Andersen, Peter C.

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Breman, Jacque W.

County agent

University of Florida

Sarkhosh, Ali

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Shahid, Muhammad A.

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Related Topics

Fact Sheet
Commercial

About this Publication

This document is HS1152, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date November 2008. Revised June 2015, June 2018, and December 2022. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication.

About the Authors

J. Breman, emeritus Extension agent IV, Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension Columbia County; P. C. Andersen, professor emeritus, Horticultural Sciences Department, North Florida Research and Education Center; M. A. Shahid, assistant professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS NFREC; and A. Sarkhosh, assistant professor, Horticultural Sciences Department; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Contacts

  • Muhammad Shahid