NTO – Grape variety research activities

In the past, vines were grown with very weak seeds and the time from planting to harvest was long. Therefore, to propagate in production, the grafting method is most often used, because this is a propagation method with a high success rate and strong seedlings, both retaining the good characteristics of the mother plant and combining the advantages of the rootstock. To ensure the quality of grafted vines, the project "Comparison of growth, development, yield and quality of grapes on different rootstocks" was conducted in 1996. The project was conducted by Ninh Thuan Center for Plant Breeding and Animal Husbandry. The research results show that the grape varieties that grow well on Couderc 1613 and Ramsey rootstocks, these are rootstocks with good tolerance to adverse environmental conditions, have good compatibility with grape varieties being grown in production. At the same time, the topic "Research and maintenance of grape varieties" conducted by Nha Ho Institute with the scientific career budget shows that research on selection and breeding has just begun to be focused.

Farmers in Phuoc Thuan commune (Ninh Phuoc) taking care of vineyards participate in the contest "Beautiful grapes" in 2023. Photo: Son Ngoc

In 2000, through the implementation of the project "Reviving the Red Cardinal grape variety in Ninh Thuan", Nha Ho Institute has selected and restored 7 top lines of the Cardinal variety with many outstanding characteristics. These lines exhibit good characteristics compared to the control such as yield stability and yield components (beam mass, beam density). The fruit volume is larger than that of the mass-produced Cardinal variety, and in 2003 the subject was accepted and accepted to be of good quality.

The yield and quality of grapes depends a lot on the variety factor, so the number of topics as well as the funding for research on varieties accounts for a large proportion. Also in 2000, Nha Ho Institute selected a fresh grape variety NH01-48 suitable to consumer tastes and climatic and soil conditions in Ninh Thuan province. This grape variety was recognized as technically advanced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2002. In 2004, the Ministry of Science and Technology assigned the Center for Transfer of Agricultural Technology Advancement in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City to implement the state project "Try production of safe grapes NH01-48 using bio-organic products". The project uses many different sources of capital, in which bank loans account for the majority. As a result of the project, a safe production process for grapes NH01-48 has been built; safe grape production model with an area of ​​100 ha, making the NH01-48 grape variety the main grape variety of the province. For the first time, safe grape brands have been built such as: Ba Moi, Ninh Phu, bringing Ninh Thuan grapes to penetrate the consumer market outside the province. The project has been assessed as excellent by the State Acceptance Council.

Farmers in Thai An village (Ninh Hai) take care of the vineyard. Photo: V.Ný

In the period 2000-2003, the topic "Growing demonstration of new grape variety Black Queen at 4 locations in 4 districts and cities of Ninh Thuan province"; next, the topic "Research on selection and creation of some grape varieties to make wine"; "Study on selecting and creating some fresh grape varieties for the period 2006-2010". From these works, the Black Queen grape variety has also confirmed its advantages in yield, resistance to pests and diseases compared to the Red Cardinal variety, special color, and additional diversity in grape varieties. The results of selecting and creating some fresh grape varieties have brought 22 new varieties into the country, preliminary assessment shows that there are 3 promising varieties; bred 10 combinations of F1 hybrid grapes, the hybrid vines are being monitored for growth and development. Select and create varieties NH01-152 with quality factors such as Brix higher than NH01-48 from 15.3-16%; higher than Red Cardinal variety from 14,1-14,6% depending on the season. NH01-152 has a large fruit weight (6,2-6,7 g/fruit), cluster weight is also higher than NH01-48, high fruiting ability, good tolerance to adverse environmental conditions, beautiful color, aroma, high yield potential compared to existing varieties (yield exceeds Cardinal and NH01-48 by 30-40 %). In the period of 2013-2016, this variety was tested on a number of farmers with a scale of 1 hectare through the project "Research on building and transferring the process of intensive cultivation of new grape varieties NH01-152 towards VietGAP". As of 2023, the area of ​​NH01-152 grape variety in the province has reached 20 hectares and is planted in Binh Thuan province about 25 hectares.

From 2020 until now, Nha Ho Institute has researched and selected from the corporation and tested 2 seedless grape varieties NH04-61 and NH04-128 within the scope of the project "Trial planting of two seedless grape varieties NH04-61 and NH04-128 in Ninh Thuan in the direction of VietGAP". Preliminary research results show that seedless grape varieties have a yield of 11-13 tons/ha/crop, Brix level of more than 18%. The topic will be accepted and put into application in July 7. On the basis of the group of grapes collected and imported, Nha Ho Institute also implements the task of the gene conservation project: "Collecting, preserving and exploiting grape genetic resources to serve the selection, breeding, scientific research and sustainable development of grapevines in Ninh Thuan". The Vineyards Conservation Garden currently maintains and evaluates varieties of fresh grapes, wine grapes, seedless grapes and rootstocks.

Over the years of restoration and breeding, the quality has also changed a lot, from an average weight of only 2-3 g/fruit in the 1980s and 1990s, now the weight of the fruit is up to 6 g/fruit, the thick skin is easy to transport, the sugar is high, and the color is not inferior to that of imported grapes.

Mr. Tung