Grapevine named ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’

Abstract

A new and distinct variety of grapevine named ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’, primarily adapted to the growing conditions of the temperate regions, and characterized by its medium vigor; erect growth habit; medium sized, circular shaped leaves; small, conical, medium dense berry clusters with two middle size wings; blue-black berries with slightly firm flesh, none to herbaceous taste and none to very weak flesh coloration; primary use for wine; and resistance to winter temperatures (to −22° C.), resistance to downy mildew, and tolerance to powdery mildew.

Description

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Vitis×vinifera (hybrid).

Variety name: ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct summer/fall bearing grapevine variety, botanically known as Vitis vinifera, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’.

The new grapevine ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ is a product of a controlled breeding program conducted by the inventors in Udine, Italy. The objective of the breeding program was to deyelop a new grapevine variety particularly characterized by resistance to cold (<−20° C.), resistance to downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), and tolerance to powdery mildew (Uncinula necator).

The new grapevine ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ originated from a cross made by the inventors in 2002 in Udine, Italy. The female or seed parent is the grapevine variety, Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Merlot’ (unpatented), and the male or pollen parent is the grapevine variety, Vitis cv. ‘20/3’ (Bianca×SK77-4/5) (unpatented).

The new grapevine ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ was discovered and selected by the inventors as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in 2002 in Udine, Italy. Asexual reproduction of the new grapevine variety by grafting was first performed in February 2004 in Rauscedo, Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ is primarily adapted to the climate and growing conditions of the temperate regions with average yearly temperature about 13° C., minimum winter temperature about −20° C., annual rainfall around 700-1500 mm of rain (e.g. North-Eastern Italy, Friuli). This region provides the necessary year-round temperatures required for it to produce and maintain a strong vigorous plant with consistent fruit production from April through November on primocanes and in the ensuing year from April through November on the floricanes.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be unique characteristics of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’, which in combination distinguish this grapevine plant as a new and distinct variety.

• • 1. Medium vigor;
  • 2. Erect growth habit;
  • 3. Medium sized, circular shaped leaves with medium to medium green upper surfaces and light green lower surfaces and medium texture;
  • 4. Small, conical, medium dense berry clusters with two middle size wings; blue-black berries with slightly firm flesh, none to herbaceous taste, and none to very weak flesh coloration; primarily used for wine and maturing in early September (Middle Friuli, North-Eastern Italy);
  • 5. Primocanes and floricanes with a circular cross section, brownish colour, no lenticels, and short-medium internodes (diameter 8 mm);
  • 6. Harvesting time in early September (Middle Friuli, North-Eastern Italy); and
  • 7. Resistance to winter temperature (−22° C.), resistance to downy mildew, and tolerance to powdery mildew.

Plants of the new grapevine ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ differ from plants of the parents, Vitis vinifera ‘Merlot’ (unpatented) and Vitis cross ‘20/3’ (unpatented), in the following characteristics described in Table 1.

TABLE 1
Comparison with parent varieties
	New Cultivar	Female Parent	Male Parent
Charac-	‘MERLOT	‘Merlot’	‘20/3’
teristic	KANTHUS’	(unpatented)	(unpatented)
vigor:	medium	medium	medium
growth	erect	horizontal	semi-erect
habit
leaf	small to medium,	medium,	Medium size,
	medium to dark	dark green color	light green color
	green color (upper	(upper surface),	(upper surface),
	surface), light	green color (lower	green color
	green color (lower	surface), very few	(lower surface),
	surface), no hairs in	hairs in both	no hairs in both
	both surfaces,	surfaces, wedge	surfaces, wedge-
	wedge shape,	shape, medium	shaped—kidney-
	medium texture,	texture	shaped, medium
			texture
cluster	low weight, conical	low weight, long,	low weight,
	with two middle	with 1-2 wings,	conical, with 1-2
	size wings, loose or	medium, berry skin	wings, medium
	medium dense,	with blue black	dense, berry skin
	berry skin with	color, soft flesh,	with green-yellow
	blue blackcolour,	neutral taste, no	color, slightly
	soft flesh, neutral	flesh coloration	firm flesh, neutral
	taste, no flesh		taste, no flesh
	coloration		coloration
primocane	circular cross	circular cross	oblate cross
and	section, brownish	section, brownish	section, brownish
floricane	colour, lenticels:	color, lenticels:	color, lenticels:
	absent, short-	absent, short-	absent, medium
	medium internodes,	medium inter-	internodes,
	diameter: small	nodes, diameter	diameter small
	(about 8 mm)	small	(about 8 mm)
		(about 8 mm)
harvesting	First decade	Early-medium	Early (end
time	September(Middle	early September	August, Middle
	Friuli, North-	(Middle Friuli,	Friuli, North-
	Eastern Italy),	North-Eastern	Eastern Italy)
		Italy)
resistances	resistant to winter	Average resistance	resistant to winter
	temperature (−22°	to winter tempera-	temperature not
	C.), resistant to	ture (−22° C.),	checked, resistant
	downy resistant to	very low resistance	to downy mildew,
	downy mildew,	to downy mildew,	resistant to
	tolerant to powdery	very low resistance	powdery mildew
	mildew.	to powdery mildew

Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar to the new grapevine ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ is the female parent ‘Merlot’, to which a comparison has been provided above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new grapevine ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ showing the colors as true as is reasonably possible with colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description, which accurately describe the color of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B show a typical fruit cluster of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ taken on Sep. 9, 2012, in Udine, Italy.

FIG. 2 shows a typical mature leaf (upper surface, left and lower surface, right) of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ taken on May 31, 2012, in Udine, Italy.

FIG. 3 shows a typical mature vine of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ taken on Aug. 3, 2012.

FIG. 4 shows a close-up view of typical mature fruit of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ taken on Sep. 9, 2012, in Udine, Italy.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following description of ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ unless otherwise noted, is based on observations taken during the 2011, 2012, and 2013 growing seasons(s) in Udine, Italy and Fossalon di Grado (GO), Italy, from plants dug from a nursery located in Rauscedo (PN), Italy during the beginning of December 2007 and planted approximately 16 to 20 weeks later in Udine, Italy and Fossalon di Grado (GO), Italy. The phenotypical descriptions and color designations stated for the new variety may vary, depending upon variations in environmental factors, including weather (temperature, humidity and light intensity), day length, soil type, location and cultural conditions. ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions.

Color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (R.H.S.), (Edition V, 2007), except where general colors of ordinary significance are used.

	‘MERLOT	‘Merlot’
Characteristic	KANTHUS’	(unpatented)
GENERAL
Resistance to	Resistant to downy	Susceptible to downy
pest/disease	mildew, tolerant to	mildew and to powdery
	powdery mildew	mildew
Resistance to natural	Resistant to winter cold	Resistant to winter cold
elements	down to −23° C.	down to −22° C.
VINE
Vigor	medium	medium
Trunk diameter	6 cm (6 yrs-old plant)	6 cm (6 yrs-old plant)
Bark
color	RHS 177B	Dark brown
underbark color	RHS 179B	Light brown
texture	n.a.	n.a.
Canes
length	Internode length	Internode length about
	cm 10.5	cm 10
width	8 mm	8 mm
Shoots
shape	Erected, cross section:	Horizontal, cross
	circular, surface: with	section: circular,
	stripes, nodes and	surface: smooth, nodes
	internodes without hairs	and internodes without
		hairs
color	internodes with red	Internodes with green
	(RHS 185B) and green	colour on ventral and
	(RHS 144B) pigmenta-	dorsal side, nodes with
	tion on both sides,	green ventral and dorsal
	nodes with red (RHS	side
	185B) and green (RHS
	144B) dorsal side and
	green (RHS 144B)
	ventral side
Tendrils
form	Bifid or trifid	bifid
color	RHS 143B	Green
texture	normal	normal
number	2 or <2 consecutive	2 or <2 consecutive
Buds
size	average	average
shape	round	round
color	RHS 139C and	Light brown
	RHS181A
number	2/node	2/node
time of budbreak	early	early-medium
LEAVES
Size	medium	medium
Number of leaflets	n.a.	n.a.
Glossiness	Medium	medium
Cross section shape	Twisted	Flat
Color (immature)
Upper surface	RHS 140B and RHS	Light green
	185B
Under surface	RHS 1408 and RHS	green
	185B
Color (mature)
Upper surface	RHS 143B	Dark green
Under surface	RHS 143C	green
Petiole
Length (cm)	6.2	6.0
Color (upper surface)	RHS 145B and RHS	green
	184D
Color (under surface)	RHS I45C and RHS	green
	184D
Stipule orientation	n.a.	n.a.
FLOWERS
Flowering period (time	Early June	Early June
of beginning of
flowering)
Sex	hermaphrodite	hermaphrodite
Size	Average	average
Diameter (cm)	0.3 (stamens)	0.3 (stamens)
Stamen color	RHS 4D
Pistil color	RHS 149A
Fragrance	n.a.	n.a.
Flower number (at 3rd	n.a.	n.a.
node from tip of lateral
mean and range)
Petals
Length (cm)	n.a.	n.a.
Width (cm)	n.a.	n.a.
Overall shape	calyptra	calyptra
Calyptra Color	RHS 134A	green
Sepals
Length (cm)	n.a.	n.a.
Width (cm)	n.a.	n.a.
Overall shape	n.a.	n.a.
Color (immature)	n.a.	n.a.
Upper surface
Under surface
Color (mature)	n.a.	n.a.
Upper surface
Under surface
Pedicel
Length (mm)	45 (cluster)	45
Color	RHS 145C	green
FRUIT
Primocane time of	September 6th	September 7th
fruiting (1st pick)
Clusters
cluster weight	Low (g 160)	Low (g 160)
cluster shape	conical	conical
cluster length	mm 170	medium
avg. berries per cluster	180	180
avg. clusters per shoot	2	2
Berries
Berry size	g 1.67	g 1.80
Berry length (cm)	1.60	1.50
Berry width (cm)	1.60	1.50
Overall shape of berry	broad ellipsoid	Broad ellipsoid
Berry Texture	soft	soft
Berry Skin Color	RHS 137C	green
(immature)
Berry Skin Color	RHS 99A	Blue black
(mature, at 19° Bx)
Berry Flesh Color	RHS 148B
Soluble solids (%)	22.4	22.0
Titratable acidity (as	5.1	5.5
g/L tartaric acid)
Sugar/acid ratio	4.4	4.0
Firmness	soft	soft
Seeds	2-3	2-3
Seed color	RHS 163A and RHS
	106B
Skin cracking?	no	rarely
Juice color	transparent	transparent
Berry taste	Neutral	neutral
Eating quality	n.a.	n.a.
Berry uses	wine	wine
Shipping quality	n.a.	n.a.

Claims

1. A new and distinct grapevine, referred to as ‘MERLOT KANTHUS’, as herein described and illustrated by the characteristics set forth above.