CIOPORA Requests to Split UPOV TG/50 to Accommodate Table Grapes

Background Upon a request from CIOPORA and its table grape breeders, the UPOV Technical Working Party for Fruit Crops (TWF) agreed in its 2017 meeting to discuss a revision of TG/50 (Grapevine/Vitis L.). The reason for the request was that TG/50 focused on wine grapes and was not well-equipped for DUS examination of table grapes. In 2018, the Italian examiner Mr Luca Aggio (CREA) was entrusted by UPOV as the Leading Expert for the review of TG/50. With CIOPORA's input, the examiners took some steps to accommodate the table grape breeders, i. a. by including some important characteristics of table grapes into TG/50. However, at that stage, some examiners opposed the idea of splitting the TG/50 into two TGs for table grapes and other types of grapes, respectively. Proposal to split TG/50 In preparation to the next meeting of UPOV TWF (TWF 51, July 6 -8), CIOPORA has submitted a letter to the Leading Expert and his colleagues (CREA, Italy), requesting to split the TG/50 into two separate TGs. In the April 30 letter, CIOPORA pointed out that table grapes are agronomically, botanically and commercially different from other grape crops and that splitting the TG/50 was essential. With only two out of 100 reference varieties included in the current TG/50 being table grapes, the Guideline is not well-suited for DUS testing in table grapes varieties. Furthermore, many characteristics of commercial importance to table grapes are absent from the TG/50 and the provided notes per characteristic are not suitable for describing table grape varieties. Yet, with 30 PBR applications for table grapes in UPOV member states per year, table grapes are a very important commercial crop that requires a separate TG. CIOPORA Fruit Members are invited to join TWF 51. Interested members are invited to contact the CIOPORA office for more information. The following relevant TGs will be out to discussion/review in the TWF subgroups in July: Apple (fruit varieties, Malus domestica Borkh.) Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Grapevine (Vitis L.) Lemon (Lemons and Limes, Citrus L. - Group 3)) Mandarin (Citrus L. – Group 1) Pistachio (Pistacia L.) Strawberry (Fragaria L.) Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium L.) Trifoliate Orange (Poncirus, Citrus L. - Group 5). Cover picture: Alex Gruber on Unsplash.com.