Ripening Dates And Length Of Season For Grapes

Every grape-grower should know when his varieties may be expected to

ripen and the length of season that they will keep. The commercial

fruit-grower by all means should have this information. It is not

sufficient that he know only roughly at what season his varieties

ripen; for, to take the turn of the market, he must know exactly when

a variety will ripen and how long it will keep. He needs this

information, also, tha he may distribute his labor better throughout

the picking season.



Unfortunately, the data as to ripening time given by originators

and introducers of varieties are not always reliable. This

untrustworthiness of data is readily accounted for in several ways:

First, growers do not generally agree as to when grapes are ripe nor

as to how long they are fit to eat. Again, much confusion as to when

varieties ripen and how long they will keep arises from the fact that

grapes ripen at different times in different places, and it is

difficult for the grape-grower in Maine to make allowance in season

for varieties, the time of ripening of which is given for Maryland.

There are also other causes than the seasonal differences in grape

regions for variability in ripening time; thus, some soils are warmer

and quicker than others, and on these grapes ripen earlier.

Application of nitrogenous fertilizers may delay the period of

ripening somewhat. Grapes ripen perceptibly earlier on old plants than

on young ones. Lastly, every vineyard in a particular region has its

own particular climate caused by the lay of land, nearness to water,

air currents and altitude which cause small differences in ripening.



The following table taken from Bulletin No. 408 of the New York

Agricultural Experiment Station gives the ripening dates of grapes at

Geneva, New York. It is necessary that the reader know something about

the conditions affecting the ripening time at Geneva. The latitude is

42 deg. 50' 46". The altitude is 525 feet above sea level. The vineyard

lies a mile west of a relatively large body of water. The soil is a

cold heavy clay which must delay ripening time somewhat. The land is

level. The data are given as an average for three seasons, 1913-1915.



The figures given for "weeks in common storage" cover a variable

number of years, but for all varieties three or more years. The

grapes, after being picked, were at once placed in common storage in a

room on the second floor of a building. There conditions were not

ideal, and no doubt the season of storage would have been prolonged

somewhat had the fruit been kept in a better storage-room.



TABLE V.--SHOWING THE RIPENING TIME OF GRAPES



=====================================================================

WEEKS IN

COMMON VERY MID- VERY

STORAGE EARLY EARLY SEASON LATE LATE

-------------------+----------+-------+-------+--------+------+------

Agawam *

America *

Barry 28 *

Beacon 7 *

Bell 8 *

Berckmans 21 *

Black Eagle 18 *

Brighton 20 *

Brilliant 11 *

Brown 6 *

Campbell Early 12 *

Canada 17 *

Canandaigua 20 *

Carman 17 *

Catawba 21 *

Champion 6 *

Chautauqua 10 *

Clevener 13 *

Clinton 21 *

Colerain 8 *

Columbian Imperial 7 *

Concord 8 *

Cottage 5 *

Creveling 16 *

Croton 23 *

Delago 25 *

Delaware 15 *

Diamond 10 *

Diana 17 *

Downing *

Dracut Amber 9 *

Dutchess 23 *

Early Ohio *

Early Victor 11 *

Eaton 6 *

Eclipse 7 *

Eldorado 17 *

Elvira 18 *

Empire State 24 *

Etta 15 *

Eumelan 17 *

Faith 11 *

Fern Munson 11 *

Gaertner 17 *

Geneva 22 *

Goethe 18 *

Gold Coin 10 *

Grein Golden 12 *

Hartford 8 *

Headlight 8 *

Helen Keller 26 *

Herbert 27 *

Hercules 13 *

Hicks 10 *

Hidalgo 12 *

Hosford 6 *

Iona 13 *

Isabella 11 *

Janesville 13 *

Jefferson 18 *

Jessica 12 *

Jewel 12 *

Kensington 19 *

King *

Lady Washington 16 *

Lindley 27 *

Lucile 9 *

Lutie 4 *

McPike 7 *

Manito 7 *

Martha 10 *

Massasoit 16 *

Maxatawney 12 *

Merrimac 31 *

Mills 29 *

Missouri Riesling 6 *

Montefiore 9 *

Moore Early 6 *

Moyer 9 *

Nectar 10 *

Niagara 10 *

Noah 10 *

Northern Muscadine 9 *

Norton 7 *

Oporto 12 *

Ozark 11 *

Peabody *

Perfection 8 *

Perkins *

Pierce *

Pocklington *

Poughkeepsie 15 *

Prentiss 16 *

Rebecca 18 *

Regal 16 *

Requa 30 *

Rochester 7 *

Rommel 10 *

Salem 27 *

Secretary 25 *

Senasqua 13 *

Stark-Star 10 *

Triumph 15 *

Ulster 21 *

Vergennes 28 *

Wilder 11 *

Winchell 6 *

Worden 6 *

Wyoming 9 *

=====================================================================