make acceptable canned juice, fro-
zen concentrate or wine. Fruit Wines
of Florida, Inc., Tampa, has also
tested cultivars for wine production.
Commercial wineries in Tampa,
Anthony, and Freeport now crush
and make wine in the state.
 Bedding and mulching tests with
bunch grapes at Ft. Pierce revealed
the importance of bedding grapes
on flat, poorly drained land. The
appearance of grape root borer as a
Florida grape pest has triggered re-
search at Leesburg on controlling
this pest in addition to other insects
and diseases. The use of antibiotics
at critical periods of the year has
been investigated for the control of
PD on susceptible cultivars.
 Rootstock trials of several bunch
grape clones with native species
parentage has revealed 'Dog Ridge'
(V. champini Planch) as superior to
other world-known stocks, being re-
sistant to PD, drought, and nema-


todes. 'Tampa' rootstock was recently
released from ARC, Leesburg, with
much less suckering tendency than
'Dog Ridge'. Other rootstock selec-
tions appear promising in tests cur-
rently under way at Leesburg.
Muscadine cultivars have not re-
quired rootstocks in Florida, but
grafting is becoming more popular
in order to change from old varieties
to newer ones.
 Current grape research in Florida
includes grape breeding and genetic
studies, cultivar testing at 3 loca-
tions, pathological investigations of
PD and fungus diseases and their
control, entomological investiga-
tions on insect pests and control,
fertilization and irrigation studies,
growth regulator studies, rootstock
breeding and testing, taste panels
and test marketing studies for fresh
fruits and wines, and processing
studies with different cultivars of
bunch and muscadine grapes.


 Future research on grapes should
include the above plus the follow-
ing: cold storage and fresh market-
ing studies with muscadine grapes,
herbicide and other weed control
methods, trellising, pruning and
training methods, investigation of
different processed products that can
be made from grapes besides wine,
nematode control methods, and the
use of cover crops, mulching, and
other cultural practices to maintain
soil fertility in vineyards.
 Continued interest in grape pro-
duction in Florida is justified, sinct
"pick-your-own" vineyards are prof-
itable, and provide the public an
opportunity to harvest this world-
favorite fruit with their own hands.
Grapes for wine and other process-
ing outlets now seem feasible as the
bearing acreage increases across the
state. New disease-resistant vari-
eties form a basis for a viable indus-
try not heretofore possible in Florida.


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