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Arkavati / Arka Red grape Photo: Sharath G. · Pexels License · source ↗

Arkavati / Arka Red grape

Arkavati (also released as Arka Red in some material) is an IIHR Bangalore release: a seeded red-purple table-cum-wine grape derived from a cross between Black Champa and Thompson Seedless. It was developed to give southern Karnataka growers a uniformly coloured red grape that performs better than Bangalore Blue and the older Anab-e-Shahi under regional climates.

Key characteristics

  • Developer: ICAR-IIHR Bangalore
  • Parentage: Black Champa x Thompson Seedless
  • Berry: medium, oval, reddish-purple to deep red at full maturity
  • Seeds: 1-3 per berry (seeded)
  • TSS at harvest: 18-21 deg Brix
  • Bunch weight: 400-600 g
  • Yield: 10-12 t/ac on flat overhead pandal in Bangalore Rural / Doddaballapur
  • Harvest window: February-March

Cultivation

Arkavati is grown predominantly in the Bangalore-Chikkaballapur-Doddaballapur belt on the traditional flat pandal with single annual pruning in October-November. It is moderately vigorous and adapts well to red lateritic and sandy-loam soils. Where soil salinity and root-knot nematodes are a problem, IIHR recommends grafting on Dogridge or 110R rootstocks (Grapes Rootstock Dogridge 110R). Fertigation through drip and balanced N-K nutrition support uniform colour development, which is the variety's main commercial attribute relative to Bangalore Blue.

Pest and disease profile

Arkavati is highly susceptible to downy mildew (Grapes Downy Mildew Plasmopara) and anthracnose (Grapes Anthracnose Elsinoe) under the southern Karnataka monsoon; powdery mildew (Grapes Powdery Mildew Uncinula) and thrips occur during the dry ripening phase. Mealybug and bunch rot are managed through orchard sanitation and selective insecticide rotations.

Adoption and use

Arkavati supplies fresh red grapes to domestic markets in southern Karnataka and is one of the cultivars promoted for the small but growing southern Karnataka table-wine cluster around Channapatna and Krishnagiri. Its companion IIHR release for the blue-black/juice segment is Arka Neelamani (Grapes Arka Neelamani). ICAR-NRC Grapes Pune and IIHR jointly maintain breeders' material and provide technical bulletins for management.

See also: Grapes Arka Neelamani, Grapes Thompson Seedless, Grapes Rootstock Dogridge 110R.

Sources

  1. Grape Varieties. ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore.
  2. ICAR-NRC Grapes Pune institutional portal.