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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp1 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Morphological variability for flowering, bunch and berry traits in grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) germplasm under subtropical conditions

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13252
Submitted
17 December 2025
Published
08-04-2026

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the world's most important fruit crops, growing widely in the temperate zone; however, Indian viticulture is unique and predominantly cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical climatic conditions. In the present study, 48 grape genotypes, including newly developed hybrids, were evaluated for key morphological and pomological parameters related to flowering, bunch and berry traits under Indian subtropical conditions at ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi during 2021–2022. Results revealed a large genetic variability for the morpho-pomological parameters. It was found that the genotypes Hyb_16_2A_R1P2, Hyb_16_2A_R1P19, Hyb_16_2A_R3P18, Hyb_16_2A_R4P3, Julesky Muscat and Pearl of Csaba were early-flowering and early-maturing, making them attractive for the cultivation and breeding of grapes for subtropical climates. Among the genotypes under examination, bunch weight, bunch width, bunch length, berry weight, berry length and berry width varied from 54.07–477.35 g, 6.82–14.12 cm, 8.07–25.57 cm, 0.72–5.60 g, 9.96–18.73 mm and 9.83–17.69 mm respectively. Over 70 % of the genotypes under study had spherical berries, while 19 genotypes (39.58 %) had no seeds. PCA indicated that berry weight, berry size, bunch weight and bunch length were the main characteristics controlling variability in the genotypes under study. The correlation analysis indicated 3 clusters based on the genetic relatedness and the association between the studied morpho-pomological features. This comprehensive categorisation provides a strategic structure for selecting genetically superior and diverse parent material to produce higher-quality, high-yielding cultivars appropriate for subtropical climates.

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