New table grape varieties of IMIDA-ITUM breeding program for the world

Abstract

Murcia is the Spanish region that produces and exports the largest amount of table grapes, with some European countries consuming a large proportion of the 168,000 tons produced. Thirty years ago the vine growers of our region cultivated local varieties with seeds, then the varietal landscape was transformed with the foreign seedless varieties and since 2013 they are cultivating grapes obtained in our own IMIDA-ITUM breeding program. At present, the partner companies have sixteen new varieties at their disposal that stand out by their crisp texture, of which eight are white, six are red and two are black varieties, and they already cultivate an area that exceeds 600 hectares, equivalent to more than 10 % of the regional land devoted to the cultivation of table grapes. A decade ago, we started a new line of work to obtain disease-tolerant varieties, the result of which is “Itumfifteen”, our first registered variety with genes for tolerance to powdery mildew. Growing them, producers will have less harvest losses and will also save phytosanitary treatments, consumers will get grapes with less residues, and there will be a considerably smaller environmental impact, all of which aims to achieve more sustainable type of agriculture. The development of the new varieties IMIDA-ITUM was initially produced to meet the needs of local farmers, but due to the interest shown by producers from the rest of the world, plant material has been sent to Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Australia.