Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.4, 2011

EVALUATION OF LOCAL AND EXOTIC GRAPES GERMPLASM AT MINGORA, SWAT MUKHTAR UDDIN*, MUKAMMIL SHAH**, KHALIL UR RAHMAN**, RIAZ ALAM** and MOHAMMAD ABDUL RAUF** * Department of Horticulture, Agricultural University, – . ** Agricultural Research Institute (North), Mingora, Swat – Pakistan. ABSTRACT An evaluation study was conducted on sixteen grape varieties at Agricultural Research Station (North) Mingora, Swat, Pakistan during the year 2005-06. The results indicated that all study the parameters were significantly different among the varieties except days to fruit setting. Of the tested varieties var. Exotic showed the maximum bunch weight (602g), followed by Cardinal (546.30g), while var. Emerald showed the minimum bunch weight (207.30g). Maximum yield per plant was recorded for var. Exotic (21.67kg/plant-1) and minimum (7.67kg plant-1) in Fantasy Seedless. Maximum bunch volume was recorded for var. Cardinal (261.00 cm3) and lowest in Loose perlette (83.33cm3). Varieties Exotic and Cardinal had the maximum number of berries/bunch (301 and 300 berries per bunch, respectively) while minimum number of berries per bunch (172) was recorded in Fantasy seedless. Based on berry yield and quality parameters, varieties Cardinal, Exotic, Flam Seedless, Gold, Loose Perlette and King Ruby showed superior performance and are recommended for further investigations in the area Key Words: Grap varitites, maximum bunch weight, minimum bunch weight, berries. Citation: Uddin., M. M. Shah, K. U. Rahman, R. Alam and M. A. Rauf. 2011. Evaluation of local and exotic grapes germplasm at mingora, Swat. Sarhad J. Agric. 27(4): 553-556 INTRODUCTION Grapes are the fruit that grow on a woody grape vine. The grapevine belongs to the family Vitacae, which includes fourteen living, two fossils genera and more than a thousand species. Grapevine is one of the world’s major fruit crop and has the earliest recorded history. It has also been praised in “The Holy Quran”. The European grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is believed to have originated in the area between Black and Caspian seas, where it still grows wild. It is believed that it was introduced/dispersed throughout the Europe and later by explorer to all continents. Grapevines are perennial woody vines and its fruit is classified as berries. The inflorescences are generally located in a place of a tendril but are rarely axillary. The colour of berry can be black, pink, golden, green, purple, red or rarely white, while the flavours range from fruity, spicy and Muscat depending upon the variety (Anwar, 1998). Grapevines are adapted to a wide range of soil types. However, heavy clay soil, shallow, sodic or poorly drained soils should be avoided. Grapes require ample soil moisture during the growing season either from rainfall or irrigation (Singleton, 1964) In Pakistan grapes are mainly grown in Quetta and Qalat divisions of Baluchistan province on an area of 8.4 thousand hectares with a production of 72,800 metric tones, due to conducive climatic conditions. In , the total area is 133 hectare with production of 1,359 tons. The area and production in FATA is 80 hectares with production of 1,097 tones and KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA settled area as 53 hectares with a production of 262 tons, respectively. In grapevines are grown on an area of 46 hectare with production of 241 tons (Anwar, 1999). Grapes are subjected to many diseases and high humidity promotes the development of certain diseases such as anthracnose, dead arm, botrytis, bunch rot, black rot, downy mildew and powdery mildew. Diseases caused by bacteria, generally are not a major problem in grapevines. There are several viral diseases like fan leaf, yellow mosaic, vein banding, yellow vein mosaic and corky bark cause stunting, deformity, chlorosis, delayed fruit maturity, poor colour development and reduced yield. Insects and other pests harmful to grapevines and fruit include the grape leaf hopper, grape leaf folder, omnivorous leaf roller, spider mites, grape mealy bugs, grape bud beetle, grass hopper, nematodes and phylloxera (Enset and Pratt, 1975). An evaluation study on five exotic grapevine cultivars (Italia, Cardinal, Flame Seedless, White Kishmish and South Colombano) was conducted by Shah and Ahmad (1993) under the agro climatic condition of Islamabad, Mukhtar Uddin et al. Evaluation of local and exotic grapes germplasm at Mingora, Swat … 554

Pakistan. It was found that Cv. White Kishmish produced the highest yield. Flame Seedless was an early maturing high yielding cultivar with attractive berry colour and seedless characteristic that has been favored by the consumer as a dessert grape. Cardinal was also early but of poor quality. South colombano and White Kishmish were mid season and Italia was a late season cultivars. Malakand division offers favourable soil and climatic conditions for commercial production of grapes and the popularity of grapes is well understood in the area. Keeping in view the economic and dietary importance of the fruit, the present study was undertaken to investigate the genotypic evaluation of local and exotic grape germplasms at Mingora, Swat for evaluation and selection of the promising cultivars. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted at Agricultural Research Station (North) Mingora, Swat (humid temperate climate) during the year 2005-06 at an altitude of 950 meters. The maximum temperature during summer (May to September) ranges from 26.6 oC to 37.7 oC. In winter (Nov. to April) 21.1 oC to 23.8 oC, with annual rainfall 81- 88cm. The planting system was square system with 1.5-meter plant to plant and row to row distance. The varieties selected for data collection were growing in a ten years old vineyard. All the vines had been trained in guyte system in which all the cordons are cut leaving only one or two with 8-12 growing buds trained on a wire. The design of the experiment was RCBD and each plant represented a single treatment replicated three times. The 16 varieties selected for evaluation were: Askari, Black Rose, Cardinal, Early Muscat, Emerald, Exotic, Fantasy Seedless, Fresno seedling, Flame Seedless, Gold, Italia, Kishmish, King Ruby, Loose Perlette, Sundar Khani and Thompson Seedless. Data were recorded on: 1st flowering (this was used as a base line for calculating other parameters), days to fruit set, picking, average number of berries per bunch, weight of bunch, volume of bunch, average yield per plant, fruit taste, berry color and character of seediness were studied. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION First Flowering Data The data regarding first flowering are given in Table I. Since these data had to be used as base line to calculate other parameters hence no statistical analysis of the data were carried out. Flowering was started from late March and continued till the end of the 1st week of April. There was a 9 days flowering difference between early flowering variety (Loose Perlette) and late flowering variety (Italia). Table I Data on flowering, days to fruit setting, days to picking, bunch weight and yield per plant of various grapevine varieties Varieties 1st Flowering Days to Days to picking Avg. Bunch Avg. Yield (year 2006) Fruit setting Wt. (g) /plant (kg) Askari March 31 30.00 84.00G 233.00I 15.00BCDE Black Rose April 05 27.00 106.30DE 221.00J 16.67ABCD Cardinal April 02 29.00 89.67F 546.30B 19.33AB Early Muscat March 31 30.00 84.00G 215.70J 10.33EF Emerald March 31 35.00 127.70A 207.30K 9.00F Exotic March 31 31.00 103.00E 602.00A 21.67A Fantasy Seedless April 05 32.00 107.00DE 216.70J 7.67F Fresno Seedless April 02 31.00 94.00F 249.30H 15.00BCDE Flame Seedless April 01 31.00 92.00F 447.00D 16.00ABCDE Gold March 30 32.00 92.00F 532.30C 19.00ABC Italia April 06 29.00 121.00B 349.70F 15.67BCDE Kishmishi April 02 31.67 111.30CD 247.70H 13.33CDEF King Ruby April 02 31.00 90.33F 404.70E 12.00DEF Loose Perlette March 29 32.00 106.00E 218.30J 13.33CDEF Sundar Khani April 02 30.00 116.00BC 411.00E 15.67BCDE Thompson Seedless April 01 32.00 107.00DE 262.70G 15.33BCDE LSD at 1% Probability level - - 5.190 6.805 5.909 Days to Fruit Set There was no significant difference among the varieties regarding fruit set Table I. The varieties took 27.00 to 35.00 days to fruit set. The weather plays a vital role in fertilization of a crop as due to humid condition the bees activities are greatly hampered, hence there happens partial fertilization and bunches become loose. Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.4, 2011 555

Total Days to Picking The data Table-I indicate that varieties took 84.00 to 127.70 days from 1st flowering to reach maturity. Askari and Early Muscat were the earliest (84.00 days each) followed by Cardinal (89.67 days) to reach maturity whereas; Emerald and Italia took 127.70 and 121.00 days respectively to reach maturity after 1st flowering. The early varieties are very much suited for cultivation in Malakand division because these varieties escape from moon soon rains that cause splitting of berries. These findings coincide to the results of Todorov (1989). Weight of Bunch The weight of bunch of different varieties ranged from 207.30g to 602.00g (Table I). The maximum weight of bunch was recorded for Exotic (602g), followed by variety Cardinal (546.30g). While minimum (207.30g) for variety Emerald, followed by 215.70g for variety Early Muscat. It was observed that varieties Cardinal, Gold, and Sundar Khani had compact bunches that leads to high market value. These findings are in partial agreement with findings of Zankov and Georgiev (1989) who got large compact bunches with a mean weight of 270g from Bulgarian variety. Average Yield The average yield per plant ranged from 7.67 Kg to 21.67 Kg Table I. The high yielding varieties were Exotic, Cardinal and Gold with respective yield of 21.67, 19.33 and 19.00 Kg/plant. These yields are in the range of those obtained at international grape growing areas as reported by Zankov and Todorove (1989), who got 12.4 t hac- 1. The lowest yield per plant was recorded for variety Fantasy Seedless (7.67Kg). Yield data are important because the viticulturist wish varieties with great economic return so the varieties like Exotic, Cardinal and Gold were of grower’s preference. Volume of Bunch Bunch volume ranged from 83.33cm3 to 261cm3 Table II. The highest bunch volumes 261.00 cm3 and 226.30 cm3 were obtained for Cardinal and Exotic respectively. Whereas the lowest bunch volume was recorded for varieties Loose Perlette (83.33cm3) and Fresno Seedless (88.67cm3). Volume of bunch plays a vital role in the marketing of grapes by attracting the consumers.

Table II Data on bunch volume, number of berries per bunch, fruit taste, fruit color, and seed character of various grapevine varieties Varieties Bunch Volume Average # of Fruit taste Fruit Color Seed character Cm3 berries/bunch Askari 101.00J 249.00CD Sweet Golden Yes Black Rose 102.7IJ 250.00CD Little sour Black Yes Cardinal 261.00A 300.30A Sweet Pink Yes Early Muscat 110.70HI 214.00EF Sweet Golden Yes Emerald 100.00J 199.30FG Sweet Golden Seedless Exotic 226.30B 300.70A Little sour Pink Yes Fantasy Seedless 141.00F 172.30G Sweet Black Seedless Fresno Seedless 88.67K 206.70F Sweet Golden Seedless Flame Seedless 170.70E 294.30A Sweet Pink Seedless Gold 188.70D 291.30AB Sweet Golden Yes Italia 174.00E 221.30DEF Little sour Golden Yes Kishmishi 114.30GH 262.70BC Sweet Golden Seedless King Ruby 188.70D 281.70AB Sweet Pink Seedless Loose Perlette 83.33K 210.00F Sweet Golden Seedless Sundar Khani 201.30C 241.00CDE Sweet Golden Yes Thompson Seedless 121.30G 249.30CD Sweet Golden Seedless LSD at 1% Probability level 8.558 28.78 - - - Number of Berries per Bunch Maximum number of berries per bunch (300) were recorded for variety Exotic followed by Cardinal (300), whilst minimum (172) for Fantasy Seedless. Varieties with more berries per bunch are more attractive to consumers and have high market value as compared to varieties with less berries per bunch. This is why preference is given to Exotic, Cardinal, Flame seedless and Gold to be cultivated in the area. Mukhtar Uddin et al. Evaluation of local and exotic grapes germplasm at Mingora, Swat … 556

Fruit Taste, Fruit Colour and Seed Character Data collected on fruit taste, colour and seed character are presented in (Table II). Fruit taste, colour and seed character are important characteristics of grapes and play an important role in marketing. In general, there is a high market demand for grapes that are sweet and golden in colour. The black and pink coloured grapes are also very attractive in general appearance and deserve place in market. Regarding seed character, the market orientation favors seedless varieties. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS On the basis of data recorded and observations noted about these varieties, the following recommendations can be concluded: i. Varieties Askari, Cardinal, Flam Seedless, Gold and King Ruby are recommended for general cultivation in high altitude zones of Malakand Division, since they mature early and ripen before moon soon rains. ii. Exotic and Italia are high yielding varieties but are late maturing and thus are suitable for growing in a dry temperate region such as Chitral (lacking moon soon rains). However, further investigations need to be carried out under such climatic conditions. iii. Due to sweet taste and consumer preference varieties Emerald, Fresno Seedless, Fantasy Seedless, King Ruby, Sundar Khani, Gold, Kishmish and Cardinal can be grown in other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These recommendations are based on the findings of the present study and further testing is recommended for evaluation in other ecological zones. REFERENCES Anwar, M. 1998. Reports on grapes. Project for Hort. Promotion, ARS (North) Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. pp.1-10. Anwar, M. 1999. Reports on grapes. Project for Hort. Promotion, ARS (North) Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. pp.1-10. Enset, J. and C. Pratt. 1975. Grapes, an advance in fruit breeding. Eds. Janick and J.N. West Lafayette. In: Purdu Univ. Press. Einset, J. & C., Pratt, 1975. Grapes. In: Janick, J. and N. Moore (Eds.). Advances in fruit breeding, pp. 130–153. Purdue Univ. Press, West Lafayette, Indiana. Shah, S.H. and M. Ahmad. 1993. Evaluation of exotic grapes cultivars under Islamabad condition. Pak. J. Agric. Res. 14(1): 81-85. Singleton. 1964. Wine. Univ. of California Press, Berkeley. Todorov, I. 1989. Pamid Ruse I. Instt. Po Semeznanie Sortoizpitvane “Obraztsov Chiflik” Sortoizpitavane. 26(10): 64-68. Vereeshchagin, P.V. 1994. Kram. Sadovodstvo-I Vinogradarstvo, Moscow, Russia. No.1, Back Core. Zankov, Z. and Z. Georgiev. 1989. Misketsungularski-a new white wine grape variety vissh selskostopanski Intt. Plovdiv, Bulgaria. 26(2): 93-96.