Ideal for juice and coloured wine

By Our Agriculture Correspondent

THE INDIAN Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, has developed a high yielding grape variety, which is ideal for making juice and coloured wine making. The improved variety called, ``Pusa Navrang'' has bluish berries, and both the skin as well as the pulp has distinct colouration, according to the scientists who developed this variety.``Pusa Navrang'' is early ripening type, and it is resistant to anthracnose disease. It is basal bearing in habit. Its berries contain up to 90 per cent edible portion, 80 per cent juice and 17 per cent total soluble solids. Its juice can be used as a colour additive for making fruit and vegetable juices and also for blending with juice extracted from white varieties of grapes, according to scientists.

Grape is one of the promising horticultural crops. This highly remunerative crop needs high initial investment as well. The vines are vegetatively propagated, and trained on ``pandal'' or bower. Grapes can be grown in well-drained soil of neutral pH ranging between 6.5 to 7.5. In well-endowed red and black loamy soils, the crop grows luxuriously.Grape requires a warm and dry weather. Cloudy weather, high humidity, low temperature and rains during flowering and berry development are not desirable as they are congenial to the spread of diseases, say horticulturists. A spacing of 3 m by 3 m is normally recommended for high yielding varieties, and about 1,112 plants will be needed to cover a hectare.

The crop responds well to regular manuring and copious irrigation. Adequate plant protection measures should be taken to raise a crop in a healthy state.

A number of diseases attack this crop, and care should be taken to ward off the diseases. The crop needs proper training, and periodic pruning. By regular pruning the excessive vegetative growth is curtailed, and the formation of fruitful bud is induced.

The vineyard should be kept absolutely free from weeds. Shallow digging once in two to three weeks should eliminate all the unwanted vegetation.

The weeding is best done with spade by manual labour. The size and quality of the bunches can be improved by spraying with some growth regulators such as gibberelic acid at the time of flowering and berry formation.

The bunches can also be dipped in solutions containing the growth promoting substances. This would ensure bigger berries and higher yield, according to experts.

The ripe bunches have to be harvested carefully without causing any damage to berries and packed well in cardboard cartons or bamboo baskets.

The bunches are to be cut with secatures or a pair of scissors, and immature and rotten berries should be removed with a pair of scissors. Paper strips should be used to avoid damage to the berries.

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