UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



&\/r' 1 &-ru 



ULLETIN No. 209 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



August 6, 1915. 



TESTING GRAPE VARIETIES IN THE VINIFERA 



REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



By George C. Husmann, 

 Pomologist in Charge of Viticultural Investigations, Office of Horticultural and Pomo- 



logical Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 



Cooperative experiment vineyards and their 

 nature 



Acreage in the California experiment vine- 

 yards 



General plan of plantings in the experiment 

 vineyards 



Phenological records 



Destruction of vineyards 



Factors in resistance 



Page. 



1 



2 



10 



10 

 10 



11 

 12 



Adaptation to soil, climatic, and other con- 

 ditions 



Hybrids 



Growth ratings of resistant vines and direct 

 producers 



Congeniality and adaptability of vines 



Behavior of grapes grafted and on their own 

 roots 



Conclusions and suggestions 155 



Page. 



12 

 16 



16 

 26 



27 



INTRODUCTION. 



A resume of the viticultural investigations in the Vinifera regions 

 of the United States up to 1910 was reported in Bulletin 172 of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry. The present publication supplements 

 that bulletin and gives additional data on the investigations then 

 under. way, as well as reports upon researches started since the date 

 of that publication. The fundamental problems of the Vinifera 

 region, as determined by the early surveys, were found to require (1) 

 a comprehensive test of the resistant varieties of vines to determine 

 their adaptability to the different soils and climatic conditions; (2) 

 a study of the congeniality of Vinifera varieties to the different 

 resistant-stock varieties; (3) a study of the behavior of fruiting 

 varieties to determine those best adapted to the different localities; 

 and (4) a consideration of all classes of grapes with reference to their 

 resistance to destructive insects and diseases and, if found necessary, 

 the origination of an entirely new class of grapes better adapted to 



85756°— Bull. 209—15 1 



