DOVine is an early season white seedless grape that matures sooner than Thompson Seedless and has other characteristics that are favorable for DOV production systems. First, mechanical pruning and harvesting will substantially reduce the costs and uncertainties associated with hand pruning and harvesting. A second potential advantage of DOV production techniques is that the grapes dry on the vine rather than on the ground. This makes the raisins much less susceptible to rain damage, which is always a concern for raisin growers. In some years, heavy rains during the drying period have significantly damaged the crop.
Grapes drying on the vine can apparently withstand substantial rainfall without damage.
One potential drawback of DOV is that it normally takes six to seven weeks after the canes are severed for the grapes to dry completely. This means that the drying grapes are exposed to inclement weather for a longer period of time, although they are likely to withstand rain better than grapes drying on the ground. Finally, the dense plantings allowed by the new trellis systems will increase yields significantly. The economic benefits of DOV require substantial upfront investment by the grower. But the key to economic feasibility for Simpson s approach is that he will produce more than twice the yield per acre than conventional production systems.