Effects of Rootstocks on Wine Grape Scion Vigor, Yield, and Juice Quality

Abstract

Forty cultivars of wine grapes ( Vitis spp. ) grafted on ‘Dogridge’ and ‘Couderc 1613’ rootstock and self-rooted vines were planted in 1974 at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station near Lubbock. From fourth to 13th leaf vines were evaluated for vigor, winter hardiness, yield, and juice quality (ºBrix, pH, and acids). Although each cultivar responded differently to rootstock, some general observations are made regarding acceptance or rejection of stocks. Compared to self-rooted cultivars, ‘Dogridge’ significantly increased vigor on 37% of cultivars while reducing vigor on 7%, reduced winter hardiness on 22% while increasing hardiness of 7%, and reduced yields on 32% while increasing yields on 17%. The most detrimental effect of the ‘Dogridge’ rootstock was on pH, which was increased on 50% of cultivars while reduced on none. In comparison, ‘Couderc 1613’ expressed more moderate effects on most scion cultivar parameters tested.