![Pixie grapes on vine.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20081108021437im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2006/061221.Pixie-i.jpg)
The Pixie dwarf variety grapevine shown above is slightly less
than 10 inches in length. The grapes measure just a shade less than four-tenths
of an inch in diameter. Photos courtesy
Peter
Cousins, ARS. |
![For further reading](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20081108021437im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/For-further-reading.gif)
|
New Dwarf Type May Be a Giant of Grape
Research
By Luis
Pons December 21, 2006
Really big things may come from Pixie, a very small grape recently
released by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
The seeded black fruit of this grape line is not meant for eating.
Instead, the variety's novel traits make it ideal for genetics, genomics,
breeding and other research that can lead to new breeding lines or cultivars
that grape consumers will love.
Pixie fits well into its classification as a dwarf variety. According
to Peter
Cousinsthe geneticist in the
ARS
Grape Genetics Research Unit at Geneva, N.Y., who helped develop
itmature clusters of Pixie typically measure slightly less than four
inches long. He said that a Pixie grapevine can be grown in a coffee cup and
still produce some grapes.
This characteristic reduces by about 50-fold the amount of space
needed for grapevine experimentation, as Pixie vines can be grown in the
greenhouse to maturity without ever needing to be planted in a vineyard.
But what really makes the new grape line special is its ability to
initiate fruit year round. In fact, according to Cousins, it's typical to
observe flower buds, blooms, immature fruit, and ripe fruitall on the
same vine.
While this trait would not be useful for the consumer-grape
industrygrape producers prefer to pick their crop just onceit does
accelerate research, allowing for year-round studies on flowers and berries at
all stages of development.
Cousins and University of
California-Davis scientist David Tricoli developed Pixie by regenerating
whole plants from embryogenic cells of the Pinot Meunier variety of grapes.
The concept of developing such dwarf grape plants was first
demonstrated and published by Australian scientists Paul K. Boss, Mark R.
Thomas, K.G. M. Skene and Martin Barlass.
Intellectual property protection will not be sought for Pixie,
according to Cousins.
To inquire about the availability of this new variety, write to Peter
Cousins, USDA-ARS, Grape Genetics Research Unit, 630 W. North St., Geneva, NY
14456.
ARS is U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.