'Marquis' is a mid-season, white seedless grape (Fig. 1) with large, spherical berries borne on large clusters. It has excellent flavor, good cold hardiness, and is best suited for home gardens and u-pick commercial operations. Own-rooted vines grown in phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch.) infested soils are productive and moderately vigorous. Pruning weights averaged between 1.1 and 1.4 kg cane prunings in 1994 and 1995 in southwestern Michigan (Benton Harbor, MI). Between 1991 and 1995, yields ranged from approximately 4.9 to 12.4 tons/acre (Table 1), more than twice the yield of 'Himrod'. Since vines have been adequately vigorous on their own roots, they have not been tested on commercial rootstocks. However, due to the vinifera-labrusca (non-phylloxera resistant) ancestry of 'Marquis', vines should be tested on a phylloxera resistant rootstock in areas with severe phylloxera pressure. |