A new spine grape cultivar Xiangci No. 1 (Vitis davidii Foëx. )

Abstract：A new spine grape cultivar Xiangci No. 1 has hermaphrodite flowers, and the first inflorescence appears on the third to fifth node of the current cane. In 2012, a single spine grape line with decent berry quality was chosen for good botanical and agricultural traits. This excellent plant was later widely propagated by grafting and cuttings. The initial trial suggested that this plant not only had high yields, but also showed resistance to abiotic and biotic stress and had high adaptability to hot and humid climate in Hunan province. This new cultivar could be used for table grape and wine making. The growing canes and their leaf petioles from this new spine grape cultivar are covered with spine-shaped trichomes, young leaves are brightly red and brown, the veins on the underside of leaves are covered with low density trichomes and the leaf margin has no lobes or no obvious lobes, and the petiole depression is half open. Berry clusters are cylindrical with moderate tightness, berry surface is covered with medium thick wax, and berry skin is thick. Each fruiting cane carries an average two inflorescences, each one has a average length of 18.8 cm, and average inflorescence weight is 220 g. Berries are round with the fruit shape index of 1.0 and average berry weight is 4.4 g. At veraison stage, berry skin is light purple, and berries turn to blue black at maturity. The total soluble solids content is up to 17.5% when berry matures. The genetic uniqueness of this new cultivar was confirmed by using nine simple sequence repeat markers. The berry yield is about 1750-2000 kg per 666.7 m2 . Because the new cultivar tends to have high yield, if berry yield is not properly controlled, vine vigor may decline prematurely. Yield management could be achieved by thinning blossoms and berries. Attention should be paid to soil improvement and root conservation. For fertilizer and water management, reducing chemical fertilizer application and increasing organic manure application can reduce the incidence of berry physiological diseasesand improve berry quality. Reasonable fertilizer and water management can improve soil structure. Xiangci No. 1 has a high resistance to grape spot anthracnose, powdery mildew and other diseases, but the new cultivar is susceptible to downy mildew. The cultivar showed resistance to general insects but is susceptible to phylloxera. To reduce losses caused by plant diseases, rain shelter cultivation is recommended as it could effectively protect vines from downy mildew and other plant diseases. The cultivar showed relatively high levels of drought resistance and tolerance to hot and humid environment, which makes it suitable for cultivation in southern provinces of China such as Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan and other places. New vineyards can be established in spring or autumn. After systematic observation and analysis, the overall performance of this new spine grape cultivar is excellent and stable. Therefore, the cultivar was registered as non-major crop cultivars by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on June 19, 2020. The new cultivar belongs to spine grape population and it was named as Xiangci No. 1. The official registration number of this cultivar was GPD grape (2020) 430 008. Xiangci No. 1 has been cultivated in Hunan province as a major spine grape cultivar and is widely planted in sloping vineyards because its total soluble solids content in the berry is higher than that of other spine grape cultivars, but whether or not the sloping land growing conditions can affect its berry quality has not been studied. The effect of terrain on berry quality of the new cultivar was investigated by analyzing more than 140 plants growing at different rows. These results indicated that terrain significantly affected berry quality of Xiangci No. 1 and may provide an important reference for growing this cultivar on sloping vineyards and in other environments.