Root knot tolerance in some grape vine rootstocks

Abstract

Sultana vines grafted on rootstocks with slight to moderate resistance to root knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica (Treub) Chitwood, were planted in root knot infested sandy loam soil in an established vineyard that had been fumigated with DD at 20 gallons an acre immediately after old vines were removed. Over a seven-year period vigorous high yielding vines were produced on the rootstocks 101-14 and Rupestris du Lot. An off type 101-14 and 420A were less successful. Ungrafted sultana vines in the same soil matched grafted vines in growth for three or four years, then failed to keep pace. Total yields from vines on 101-14 and du Lot in the fifth to seventh seasons were twice the yields of the ungrafted, and differences in growth appear to be increasing. Because of better growth habit and higher nematode resistance 101-14 is preferred to du Lot.