Standardization of cultural practices to increase quality yield of wine grapes
Name of PI with associates
Dr. R.G. Somkuwar, Principal Scientist (Horticulture)
Dr. A.K. Sharma, Sr. Scientist (Post-harvest Technology)
Dr. J. Sharma, Sr. Scientist (Soil Science)
Dr. S.D. Sawant, Principal Scientist (Plant Pathology)
Dr. S.D. Ramteke, Sr. Scientist (Plant Physiology)
Objectives:
To standardize the training system.
To standardize vine spacing
To standardize pruning practices
To standardize bud load per vine
To standardize training material to reduce establishment cost.
Duration:
1 April 2010 to 31 March 2015
Highlights:
The grapevine is the source of all types of wine. Reaching the highest level of quality in wine is only possible by starting with the highest quality fruit. Maximizing fruit quality from any vineyard site can be a lengthy process, because the end results are revealed only after several seasons of comparison.
The grapevine prefers the temperate climate in which it evolved, with warm, dry summers and mild winters. Grapevines are fairly adaptable plants, growing in a wide variety of soil types, from light sand to clay. They are successfully grown in Europe, the Balkans, Asia, Mediterranean and South Africa, South Australia and New Zealand, most of North America and a good portion of South America.
There are multiple and interlacing factors to consider when starting a vineyard, in order to ultimately achieve highest fruit quality. In selecting a site, the average length of the ripening season, sun exposure should all be taken into account well before the vineyard is established.
In India, grape is one of the major important fruit crops. About 78% production in the country is utilizes as table grapes, 17-20% for raisin production is utilized as table purpose and remaining for juice and wine. Due to limited domestic consumption of wine and also non availability of standard wine varieties along with the packages of practices for the production of quality wine, much emphasis was not given on research on wine making.
The information on pruning practices to be followed, vine density per unit area, row direction and spacing, crop load, training system is required to produce better quality yield so as to make quality wine.
Total outlay: Rs. 42.60 lakhs