Skip to content

Dogridge and 110R grape rootstocks Photo: Ivan B · Pexels License · source ↗

Dogridge and 110R grape rootstocks

Grafting Indian table-grape cultivars onto stress-tolerant rootstocks rather than growing them on their own roots is now the default commercial practice in the Maharashtra-Karnataka-Andhra grape belt. The two dominant rootstocks are Dogridge (Vitis champinii) and 110R (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris). Both were introduced and validated by ICAR-NRC Grapes Pune.

Principle

Indian grape soils on Deccan basalt are alkaline, calcareous and increasingly saline, and they carry heavy populations of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and dagger nematode (Xiphinema sp.). Thompson Seedless (Grapes Thompson Seedless) and other V. vinifera cultivars on their own roots are highly susceptible to all three stresses and decline within 6-8 years. Grafting onto Dogridge or 110R transfers the cultivar to a much deeper, salt-tolerant and nematode-resistant root system while keeping the scion identity intact.

Procedure

  • Dogridge (V. champinii): very vigorous; tolerates high salinity (EC up to 4 dS/m), drought and root-knot nematode; recommended for sandy / shallow / saline / nematode-infested soils typical of Sangli, Vijayapura (Bijapur) and parts of Solapur. Often produces high vigour requiring careful canopy management.
  • 110R (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris): moderately vigorous; tolerates calcareous soils (limestone, free lime), moderate salinity and drought; preferred on calcareous black-cotton soils of Nashik and Solapur. Better fruit quality than Dogridge but slightly less nematode tolerance.

In nursery, rootstock cuttings are rooted under mist; bench-grafting or chip-budding with the scion (Thompson Seedless, Sonaka, Tas-A-Ganesh, etc.) is done in winter; grafts are field-planted at the beginning of the next monsoon.

Where it applies

Rootstock grafting is mandatory for export-grade plots in Nashik, Sangli, Solapur, Pune and north Karnataka. Newer Maharashtra grape plantings after about 2005 are almost entirely grafted; older own-root Anab-e-Shahi (Grapes Anab E Shahi) pandals in Telangana are gradually being replaced as they decline.

Limitations

  • Cost: grafted plant cost is 2-3 times that of own-rooted Thompson Seedless cuttings.
  • Vigour management: Dogridge in particular can produce excessive canopy under good moisture, requiring CCC, deficit irrigation, and tighter pruning.
  • Graft-incompatibility: rare but reported, usually with mismatched scion clones.

See also: Grapes Thompson Seedless, Grapes Anab E Shahi, Grapes Pruning Foundation Fruit, Nematode Pomegranate.

Sources

  1. Rootstocks for Grapes. ICAR-NRC Grapes Technical Bulletin 11.
  2. ICAR-NRC Grapes Pune institutional portal.