"The Muscadine Grape: Botany, Viticulture, History, and Current

FEATURE The Muscadine Grape: Botany, Viticulture, History, and Current Industry William C. Olien1 U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Small Fruit Research Station, Box 287, Poplarville, MS 39470 The muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia grape found in India has similar characteristics is the name of a specific cultivar. Michx.) was the first American grape spe- to the Muscudinia (Syamal and Patel, 1953) The natural range of V. rotundifolia ex- cies to be cultivated. This fruit has a long and may reflect the pre-ice age distribution of tends from Delaware to central Florida and history in commercial and backyard culture. this group. along the Gulf of Mexico to eastern Texas Picking muscadines to enjoy as juice along Muscadinia grapes have 40 somatic chro- (L.H. Bailey Hortorium, 1976; Dearing, with muscadine pie on grandmother’s back mosomes (2x = 2n = 40) and are charac- 1938; Munson, 1909; Weaver, 1976). The porch has a strong place in childhood mem- terized by fruit borne in many clusters with species extends north along the Mississippi ories of many native Southerners. The oldest few berries per cluster, formation of an ab- River to Missouri and near the Appalachian and most consistent commercial interest in scission zone between the fruit and rachis, Mountains from the east and west. Temper- muscadines has been in wine, but juice and smooth thin bark that is adherent on young atures in this region seldom go lower than fresh fruit markets have also been devel- wood and separates in scales from older wood, - 12C and more rarely to - 18C (U.S. Dept. oped. Muscadines so differ from “bunch” unbranched tendrils, dense wood, and con- of Agriculture, 1973). These vines do best grapes genetically, anatomically,, physiolog- tinuous pith (L.H. Bailey Hortorium, 1976; on fertile sandy loams and alluvial soils, and ically, and in taste that they should be con- Einset and Pratt, 1975; Hedrick, 1908; Mun- grow poorly on wet and heavy soils. Natural sidered a separate fruit. son, 1909; Williams, 1923). In contrast, Eu- populations are found in shady, well-drained The muscadine industry is currently ex- vitis grapes have 38 somatic chromosomes bottom lands along rivers that are subject to panding throughout the southeastern U.S. as (2x = 2n = 38), branched tendrils, many neither extended drought nor waterlogging interest in grapes and wine increases nation- berries per fruit cluster, no abscission zone (Hedrick, 1908; Munson, 1909). ally. Commercial muscadine vineyards range between the berry and rachis, striated bark Wild V. rotundifolia vines are functionally in size from < 1 ha to hundreds of hectares, on young wood, thick rough bark that peels - dioecious (polygamous) due to incomplete sta- and may be a primary or secondary source in strips on old wood, less-dense wood than men formation in female vines and incomplete of income to the grower. There is particular Muscudinia, and pith interrupted by dia- pistil formation in male vines (Dearing, 1948; interest in this fruit for small and part-time phragms at nodes. Hedrick, 1908). Male vines account for 60% farm operations and as an alternative crop Muscudinia is a much smaller group than to 75% of the wild muscadine population for agronomic growers. An important recent Euvitis, and is comprised of three known (Dearing, 1938; Husmann and Dearing, 1916). development has been the establishment of species. Vitis munsoniana Simpson ex Mun- Female vines bear fruit in numerous clusters a major muscadine juice and processing plant son (common names Bird Grape, Everbear- of from one to 40, but more commonly four in Mississippi with a satellite plant in North ing Grape, Mustang Grape, Little Muscadine to 10, thick-skinned berries containing two to Carolina. Growth of the muscadine industry Grape) and V. popenoei Fennell (common six large seeds (Husmann and Dearing, 1916; is supported by research to improve vineyard name, Mexican Muscadine Grape) (Munson, Young, 1920). The vines are late in breaking management, processing methods, and cul- 1908; U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1973; bud in the spring and require a long season, tivars through breeding. Weaver, 1976; Winkler et al., 1974) are not generally > 100 days, to mature the fruit (Hed- important commercially, but are possible rick, 1908). BOTANICAL BACKGROUND sources of genetic variation for breeding pro- Most authorities divide Vitis into the subge- grams. Vitis munsoniana is likely a semi- EARLY MUSCADINE CULTIVARS nera Euvitis Planch. (the familiar European and tropical variant of V. rotundifolia, native to Muscadines have long been harvested from American bunch grapes that include V. vini- Florida and a narrow coastal band along the wild and semicultivated vines (Hedrick, fera L. and V. labrusca L.) and Muscadinia Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas (Hus- 1908). According to Hedrick, Native Amer- Planch. (sometimes referred to as berry grapes) mann and Dearing, 1916). Vitis munsoniana icans used the fruit, and the earliest Euro- (Dearing, 1938; Winkler et al., 1974). How- bears clusters of eight to 30 relatively small peans to reach America noted the abundance ever, there has been a long-standing contro- berries with thin skin and small seeds, but of V. rotundifolia. Captain John Hopkins re- versy, with some authors placing Muscadinia poor fruit quality (Dearing, 1947). Vitis po- ported that Spanish missionaries in Florida as a separate genus (Bouquet, 1980; Olmo, penoei is a tropical species native to southern were making muscadine wine in 1565. He 1986; Small, 1913). Fossil evidence suggests Mexico (Fennell, 1940). also noted that Amadas and Barlowe re- that Muscadinia was widely distributed over The third species, V. rotundifolia Michx. ported the abundance of these grapes in coastal the North American, European, and Asian (common names: Muscadine, Bullace, Bull North Carolina on their first voyage to this continents before the last ice age (Bouquet, Grape, Bullet Grape, Southern Fox Grape), continent in 1584. The latter described the 1980). Thus, Muscadinia may be an ancestral is the only commercial Muscadinia grape, land “so full of grapes . on the sand and genus that led to vitis, adapted to temperate and the name “muscadine” is reserved ex- on the green soil, on the hills as on the plains, climates,. and Ampelocissus, adapted to tropi- clusively for this species. The majority of V. as well as on every little shrub as also climb- cal climates, as the ice age receded. A wild rotundifolia vines in the wild bear dark fruit. ing towards the tops of tall cedars, that I A very old name for these grapes is “Bul- think in all the world the like abundance is lace” or “Bullis”, or less commonly “Bull” not to be found”. Received for publication 19 May 1989. The cost or “Bullet” grapes (Gohdes, 1983; Hedrick, Muscadines have been cultivated in vine- of publishing this paper was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. Under postal regu- 1908). Light-colored bronze-fruited geno- yards since the mid-18th century (Reimer, lations, this paper therefore must be hereby marked types are occasionally found in the wild and 1909). The first cultivars were simply selec- advertisement tsolely to indicate this fact: are often referred to generically as “scup- tions propagated from the wild (Reimer, 1Present address: Dept. of Horticulture, Clemson pernongs”. However, there are many culti- 1909). Although there were 35 to 40 named Univ., Clemson, SC 29634-0375. vars of bronze muscadines, and ‘Scuppernong’ muscadine cultivars in 1920, only a few were 732 HORTSCIENCE, VOL. 25(7), JULY 1990 grown extensively (Young, 1920). Better- A second USDA-ARS muscadine breeding rootstocks for Euvitis grapes (Davidis and Olmo, known early cultivars and approximate dates program was conducted at Meridian, Miss., 1964; Husmann and Dearing, 1916; Winkler introduced were ‘Hopkins’ (1845), ‘Flow- from 1941-1965 by N.H. Loomis. Mus- et al., 1974). In contrast to Euvitis, musca- ers’ (1800), ‘James’ (1866), ‘Memory’ cadine breeding was initiated by the Geor- dines root poorly from woody cuttings (Goode (1868), ‘Mish’ (or ‘Meisch’) (1846), ‘Scup- gia Experiment Station in 1909 (Stucky, et al., 1982; Husmann and Dearing, 1916). pernong’ (mid-1700s), and ‘Thomas’ (1845) 1919). In addition, various private individ- Commercial practice is to propagate either by (Husmann and Dearing, 1916; Reimer, 1909). uals have conducted muscadine breeding layering (Woodroof, 1936) or by mist-propa- All early cultivars were female types and re- efforts, most notably the Euvitis x V. ro- gation of softwood cuttings (Goode and Lane, quired pollinator vines for optimum fruit set tundifolia hybridization efforts of T.V. 1983). 1H-indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) in- (Young, 1920). Munson (1909) in Texas, and Olmo (1986) creased root system quality of cuttings taken The cultivar eventually named ‘Scupper- and coworkers in California. Active mus- prior to July, but did not increase root initia- nong’ was the first native American grape to cadine breeding programs for fruiting cul- tion or shoot growth (Goode and Lane, 1983). be cultivated (Hedrick, 1908; Reimer, 1909). tivars are currently being conducted in Vines are sold bare-root or in “1-gallon” (3.8- ‘Scuppernong’ was the dominant cultivar Florida (Bates et al., 1980; Mortensen, liter) nursery pots. Micropropagation methods ‘grown from the mid-18th century until as 1971), Georgia (Lane, 1978), and North are currently being developed by several groups recently as 1947, and it remains the most Carolina (Goldy, 1988; Goldy et al., 1988). (Gray and Fisher, 1985; Griffin and Graves, widely known muscadine (Reimer, 1909; Progress in breeding up to the early 1970s 1989; Lee and Wetzstein, 1989; Sudarsono Dearing, 1947; Woodroof, 1934). Popular was summarized by Einset and Pratt (1975) and Goldy, 1988). culture often gives credit for discovery of the and Schwartz (1976). ‘Hunt’ was intro- Planting and establishment. General rec- original ‘Scuppernong’ vine to Sir Walter duced in 1920 by the Georgia Experiment ommendations on site selection, soil prepara- Raleigh’s colony when they landed on Roa- Station (Stucky, 1919) and had improved tion, planting methods, and vineyard noke Island, N.C.

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