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Somatic mutations of the niagara grape in Brazil

The Niagara variety of grape originated from a cross between Vitis labrusca L. and V. vinifera L. It has a heterozygous behavior and possess round white berries. Its introduction in Brazil dates back to 1894. Since 1910 it has become a popular variety in Brazilian vineyards and specially in those planted in the State of São Paulo. Today, the originally introduced Niagara variety and some of its mutants are the most widely cultivated variety group in São Paulo. There are about 27 million vines of this group in the State, producing an average crop of 50,000 metric tons of fresh grapes in the value of 500 million cruzeiros. Some mutants from the regular Niagara have been known in the Jundiaí (São Paulo) area since 1933. From 1947 on the writer has been collecting and studying these mutants at the Jundiaí Agr. Exp. Sta. with emphasis on those types that are of agronomical value. Most, of the new. isolated sports represent variations in color or shape of the berries. In the present paper seven mutants, (1) Round Pink or Rose Niagara (1933); (2) Giant White (1937); (3) White Oval (1938); (4) Giant Pink (1941); (5) Striped Round (1947); (6) Steck Form (1951): and (7) Pink Oval or Niagara Maravilha (1958) are described in their main characteristics, including origin, ampelometric data, and yield performance. Some of the sports described in this paper are nowadays of great economical importance. This is true for the Pink Niagara that makes up 60 per cent of the total grape acreage in the State of São Paulo. Other sports such as the White Oval, the two Giants (probably of tetraploid origin), and Niagara Maravilha are very promising and will probably be well accepted by both, the grower and consumer.


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