A new white seedless grape from the US could soon be available to fill the tricky late-autumn window.
Autumn King is described as plump, sweet, and luscious by scientists at the US Agricultural research Service where it was developed.
The fruit is ready to harvest in late October just as availability of Thompson Seedless winds down. And since Autumn King stays sweet, firm and juicy in cold storage, availability of this autumn-harvested grape could run through until late December.
The attractive, amply-sized grape is larger than Thompson Seedless and has been developed by ARS plant geneticists working at the San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Services Centre in California. It has taken more than 10 years of research and testing to bring the grape to this point. And it is now probably just two or three seasons away from commercial trial volumes.
The variety is patented by the scientists themselves and licensed to the industry-sponsored California Table Grape Commission in Fresno.
Autumn King was made available for the first time in 2005 to grapevine nurseries. So far, the nurseries have produced more than 100,000 young Autumn King vines for planting in central California’s commercial vineyards, where most of the nation’s fresh-market grapes are grown.
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