The Biotechnology Research and Development Consortium in Peoria, Illinois, funded part of the research and has applied for a patent. New Grape Trio Consumers may be smacking their lips on three new seedless grapes within a few years. Melissa, Summer Royal, and Summer Muscat are the latest sweet offerings of the ARS grape breeding program in Fresno, California. Cuttings were made available to breeders and growers for the first time this spring. More cuttings may be available this winter.
Growers stand to benefit from unique traits of each new variety.
But Melissa vines require no sprays of the natural growth regulator gibberellic acid to produce big berries. Summer Royal, a black seedless, is sweet, large, firm, and ideal for snacks and salads. It fills a production gap at the end of August, when few American-grown black seedless grapes are on the market. Last of the trio, Summer Muscat is a seedless raisin grape. Its sweet, strong muscat flavor is somewhat like the traditional Muscat of Alexandria grapes favored by some makers of candy-coated raisins.