Reliable ways to identify the grape variety yourself
There are hundreds of grape varieties: technical and table grapes, early and late, pink and white. Grapes of domestic, American, Dutch, Georgian, Spanish selection are grown in Russia. If there are more than three different varieties on the same site, summer residents run the risk of getting confused in them, especially if the plants are similar. The article will tell you what signs to look for and how to distinguish between grape varieties.
The content of the article
How to identify a grape variety
Many grape varieties are very similar to each other: they have the same color of leaves, shape and size of bunches. To distinguish one variety from another, growers pay attention to basic characteristics.
In appearance
There are four-, five-lobed and whole leaves. The latter type is most often found in hybrids, for example, in the popular American selection of grapes - Seneca, Valiant, Lucille. The edges of such leaves are serrated, the plates are round. The larger the leaves, the older the bush.
The surface of the sheet is smooth or rough, glossy or matte. In some varieties, the leaves are weakly dissected, in others they are strongly dissected. The form is round, ovoid, heart-shaped, wedge-shaped. In summer, the color is light green, dark green or light green, in autumn - red, brown, orange or yellow.
When determining a variety, they pay attention to berries.... The color of the peel, its thickness, the presence of a wax coating, the size of a whole bunch and one fruit are taken as a basis. The structure is dense or loose. For example, grapes Aleshenkin, Hercules and Gourmet Krainov have large and loose clusters, while Cocktail and Neptune have conical clusters with a maximum weight of only 300 g.
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Taste
The variety is determined by the taste of the berries and their aroma. The taste is sweet, sweet and sour, sour or neutral. The aroma is nutmeg, neutral, floral, strawberry, fruity.
Interesting! Technical grapes are used for the preparation of juice and wine, table grapes - for fresh consumption and sale, long storage. Typical features of a canteen are large conical clusters, large egg-shaped fruits, dense rind and juicy crunchy pulp, sweet taste. Technical varieties do not have such attractive characteristics: their clusters and berries are small, the skin is thin, and the taste is tart.
If there are no seeds in the berries, then this is raisins. The rest of the varieties have 2-3 small seeds. It is recommended to pay attention to the color of the juice, which is colorless or slightly pinkish.
By flowers
The plant has bisexual or functionally female flowers. The ovary is conical, cylindrical, spherical. The length of the stamens and pistils is different for all plants. Experienced growers claim that it is impossible to determine the variety by the type of flower. Another thing is to catch the moment of flowering and find out what ripening period the grapes belong to: early, middle, late.
Other methods
Not only external and taste characteristics help to distinguish one grape from another. Experts take into account the moment of bud opening, the beginning of flowering and ripening, fruiting. Early varieties bear fruit by mid-July, mid-ripening ones in August, late ones in September and October. The time of fruit set and leaf fall is taken into account.
In addition, pay attention:
- on the degree of ripening of the vine - determined by color, expressed by the number of matured internodes and as a percentage of the total length of shoots;
- plant and vine height - grapes are short (up to 1.5 m), medium (up to 2 m), tall (2.5 m and above), vines are straight or curved, green or brown, bare or pubescent;
- resistance of grapes to frost and drought;
- immunity to diseases and insect pests;
- features of agricultural technology: the number of irrigations, the length and frequency of pruning, the formation, the requirements for feeding.
Which of the ways is the most reliable
In the first place in terms of reliability is the definition of the species by the bunch: color, weight, shape, density. It is recommended to carefully study these characteristics, compare them with photographs from the Internet.
Interesting! If the grapes have curved and curly vines, smooth leaves, then most likely this is an ornamental variety. They are used for landscaping, the height of the plant is 2-3 m. Such varieties are unpretentious to care for, resistant to frost, diseases and insect pests. Their bunches are small and dense, the leaves are rich green.
Traits such as yield, frost resistance, taste and aroma are assessed last.
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Kesha grape hybrid - description and characteristics
Conclusion
Recognize the grape variety by leaf, berries, bunches. In some plants, the leaves are dark green, small and pubescent, in others - large glossy light green. The larger the leaf, the older the plant. The berries are white, pink, dark, the shape is round or ovoid, the skin is thin or dense. The taste of table varieties is sweet, with a pleasant aroma, and of technical varieties - sweet and sour, with a tart aftertaste and nutmeg aroma. Brushes are winged or semi-winged, conical or cylindrical.