While some may question the wisdom of growing grapes in the Great Plains, Read lists some pluses. Nebraska has abundant soil and water resources and a lot of sunshine in the growing season. Since 1998, he's evaluated more than 65 cultivars and breeding lines, including traditional and new European, North American and French-American cultivars and hybrids. Information about cultivars is critical to viticulture because grapes are an intensive endeavor. If you lose one or two corn plants, it's no big deal.
Results are encouraging.
Several cultivars appear tolerant to specific diseases and a few to 2,4-D, he said. Some cultivars also have exhibited promise regarding dormancy and delayed bud-break in spring, critical factors in Nebraska's roller coaster late winter temperatures. We know we can't grow Cabernet Sauvignon because the grapes require too long a growing season, but we're testing some varieties that conventional wisdom says can't grow here. Read has five research sites in eastern Nebraska and a western site near Scottsbluff. Soil type, drainage and other growing conditions vary widely among these sites.