Variation in some yield determining components in muscadine grapes and their correlation to yield

Abstract

Six Vitis rotundifolia Michx . (muscadine) grape genotypes were measured to determine variation and simple correlations between flower and fruit number/cluster, fruit cluster and individual fruit weight, fruit set and total vine yield . Significant variation was found for each trait, except fruit cluster weight . Range in mean values across selections for each trait were : 72 to 202 flowers/cluster ; 16 to 26 fruit/cluster ; 88 .1 to 112 .2 g/fruit cluster ; 3 .4 to 7 .2 g/fruit ; 11 .3 to 23 .4% fruit set ; and 21 .0 to 71 .0 kg/vine for yield . Simple correlation values ranged from r = 0 .05 for flower number to cluster number to r = 0 .69 for fruit number to cluster weight . No trait was highly correlated to total yield . Therefore, to increase yield in muscadines it appears best to select for total yield and not for components contributing to yield .

Reproductive Traits of Hermaphroditic Muscadine Cultivars

“…H1-derived cultivars averaged more than 120 flower buds per cluster, whereas H2derived cultivars averaged less than 100. This is in agreement with observations that the original H2 vine produced smaller clusters than the H1 vine (Dearing, 1917) and with observations that H1 derived 'Noble' produced more flowers per cluster than the H2 derived 'Sterling' and 'Doreen' (Goldy, 1988). H1 was produced from a cross of a female V. rotundifolia to a male V. munsoniana, whereas both the male and female parents of H2 were V. rotundifolia, thus the increase in flower buds may be a feature introduced from V. munsoniana.…”

“…Similar results were found for 'Noble' and 'Doreen' in North Carolina where the number of flowers per cluster was 128 and 84, respectively (Goldy, 1988). In the secondary flowering period, there was little variation between cultivars or among clusters for flower number per cluster.…”

Inheritance and Phenotypic Correlations of Agronomic Traits in Grapevine Offsprings

“…Significant correlation coefficients between bunch weight and grape yield and between berry weight and grape yield in both crossing combinations, suggest that these two traits are important components of yield in grapevine. Similar conclusions came from Firoozabady and Olmo [1987], Goldy [1988], Fatahi et al [2004], Fanizza et al [2005], Leão et al [2010], and Song et al [2014].…”

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

“…Munson (1909) in Texas, and Olmo (1986) and coworkers in California. Active muscadine breeding programs for fruiting cultivars are currently being conducted in Florida (Bates et al, 1980;Mortensen, 1971), Georgia (Lane, 1978), and North Carolina (Goldy, 1988;Goldy et al, 1988). Progress in breeding up to the early 1970s was summarized by Einset and Pratt (1975) and Schwartz (1976).…”