The grapevine is buzzing, and it’s happy news
Indian scientists have developed a new variety of grape that is pest resistant, low cost and high yield. You can eat it whole, or make juice, jam and wine.
The new variety, named ‘ARI-516’, is developed by creating a hybrid of American Catawba and Vitis Vinifera and the fruit is ready within 110-120 days. The existing grape varieties take 130-140 days to get ready. (Photo: ARI)
Scientists from Pune’s Agharkar Research Institute have developed a new variety of grape that is not only resistant to pests like fungus but also needs lesser capital to invest and produces a much higher yield than previously cultivated varieties.
The new variety, named ‘ARI-516’, is developed by creating a hybrid of American Catawba and Vitis Vinifera and the fruit is ready within 110-120 days. The existing grape varieties take 130-140 days to get ready.
“It is a multipurpose, multiutility variety of grapes. It can be used to produce juice, jam, red wine, and raisins as well,” Sujata Tetali, the scientist who developed the variety told Gaon Connection. “The flavour of this ARI-516 is unique and most importantly, it needs a lot less pesticides to keep itself safe from pests. It is because it can resist pests and insects on its own to a great extent,” she added.
The new variety is moderately resistant to pests like Downy and Powdery Mildew, and fully resistant to Anthracnose.
Usually, grapes are of two varieties — the table variety that is normally eaten as a whole, and the other variety is used to produce grape-based products. But the ARI- 516 is versatile and can be utilised for both the purposes.
The yield of ARI-516 is around 45 tonnes to 48 tonnes per hectare of vineyard.
India is the 12th largest producer of grapes in the world. More than 80% of India’s grape production is from Maharashtra.
78% of the country’s grape production is used for direct consumption while 17% to 20% is used for making raisins, 1.5% for manufacturing liquor and 0.5% for production of juice.
Usually, the new variety takes 110-120 days to produce fruits but the time taken to bloom also depends on the climate of the area in which it is grown.
Dr Tetali further explained: “In Tamil Nadu, it takes 74-75 days to produce fruits, 100-110 days in Maharashtra, while it takes about 130 days in the northern states. It ripes at a faster pace in the southern states and the duration increases as we go northwards.”
She also stated that ARI-516 is immensely popular amongst farmers due to its low input costs. This is because it requires lesser amounts of fertilisers and takes lesser time to yield. Previous varieties of grapes require at half a million rupees per hectare but with ARI-516, the costs come down to 0.4 million per hectare of land.