Histoire de la vigne sauvage, Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris, en Camargue / Wild grapevine Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris in Camargue, southern France

Abstract

In the south of France, a few wild grapevines have been reported along hedges close to the lower Rhône valley. Two other small populations of Vitis sp. were found in two private lands, the Meyranes and the mas Saint-Georges woodlands, in the Camargue delta. In Meyranes, true wild grape vines are very rare, and much less abundant than in the mas Saint-Georges. The mas Saint-Georges population is particularly rich in Vitis individuals (an estimation of 52 individuals).Old maps indicate that the mas Saint-Georges woodland was an ancient wetland, dried up after the Rhône embankment at the beginning of the 20th century. The forest stand is thus ca. 100 years old. Wild grapevines have found refugia in this young woodland.The study aimed to provide insight into this Vitis population through field, ecological and genetic analyses.The genetic composition and diversity were analyzed on 37 samples. Thirty-one (31) individuals collected were true wild grapevines. Their genetic diversity was found to be similar to that of other European populations. Four were hybrids/introgressed between rootstocks and wild grapevines, and two were hybrids/introgressed wild grapevines and cultivars.

Ecology and Genetics of Natural Populations of North American Vitis Species Used as Rootstocks in European Grapevine Breeding Programs

“…This process has contributed to the eradication of the endemic wild grapevine V. vinifera ssp sylvestris, already endangered by American pests and pathogens and large-scale habitat destruction (Arnold et al, 1998;Arnold et al, 2010). Only a few sites are still preserved against the invasion of exotic Vitis (Arnold, 2002, Arnold et al, 2005Arnold et al, 2010;Arnold et al, 2017;Schnitzler et al, 2018).…”