TROPICAL GRAPES
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Vitis species
FAMILY: Vitaceae
Contrary to popular belief, that well-enjoyed table fruit, the grape, is not confined to growing in the cooler parts of the world.
Of the select few varieties equally happy in the tropics, I managed to obtain a purple variety, 'Angelina' by name. To the amazement of everyone who saw them in November - December, these vines produce up to 60 bunches of pleasant-tasting table fruit each year.
These two grafted vines, now in their fourth year, are trained onto an overhead T trellis measuring 2m high, 1m wide and 7m long.
There can be no doubt as to the hardiness of grape vines; mine, growing in nematode-infested, porous black sand which has had 30cm of flood water lying for 2 days, have never looked better.
Grapes must be pruned to ensure regular fruiting. Pruning traditions differ, but I've found in this climate that at the beginning of August each year, cutting each 'old wood' runner back to pencil thickness and fertilizing each vine with a fertilizer bag of fowl manure, 2kg NPK fertilizer, 1kg dolomite and, if available, 1kg blood and bone, gives a good quality crop. From then on the vines must be kept well-watered to ensure good skin cell and fruit growth, as the probability of an early wet season in the tropics can spoil the crop just as you are about to enjoy the harvest.
The only pre-harvest care I've found necessary is the application of sulphur dust on the fruit to avoid insect attack and mould. Comparing the area required to grow grapes to the crop size, they are very well-suited to backyard situations.
My deduction: no yard should be without one.
DATE: January 1981
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