In a milestone for Florida agriculture, researchers have grown and harvested wine grapes that are resistant to the main bacterial disease that has long prevented the state from establishing a large-scale wine industry.
Researchers successfully grew five grape varieties in Citra, Florida, that are resistant to Pierce’s disease, a bacterial infection that kills the vines and shrivels the grapes. The effort, led by Ali Sarkhosh, associate professor in the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) horticultural sciences department, produced a harvest of grapes that resulted in 13 cases of wine.
Read more about Breakthrough With First Disease-Resistant Wine Grapes Shows Hope for a Florida Wine Renaissance.
