Why in news? The University of Horticultural Sciences (UHS), Bagalkot, and ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes based in Pune, Maharashtra, have developed new varieties ‘Manjira Kishmish’, ‘Manjira Midika’ and ‘Manjira Shama’.

Highlights:

• Three new varieties of grapes that can withstand adverse weather and promise more yield have been developed by researchers, a development that will come as a boost to farmers eyeing more income.
• Karnataka is the second largest producer of grapes after Maharashtra and has nearly 29,197 hectares of land under cultivation and produces 7.10 lakh tonnes of grapes annually

About Grapes cultivation

• Grape is grown in temperate to warm regions, however, hot and dry climate is ideal for its cultivation.
• Regions having heavy rainfall or hail storms are not suited for grape cultivation.
• Grapes are found growing on a variety of soil type. Best soil for grapes would be well drained loam to sandy loam with good organic matter.
• Indian grapes come in varied characteristics namely colored, white, seeded, unseeded, large and small berries.
• Major grape-growing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Mizoram.

Grape Cultivation in Karnataka

• The erstwhile Nizam of Hyderabad brought the fruit variety and introduced it in the state, particularly in the northern districts of Belgaum, Bidar, Bagalkote, Bijapur and Gulbarga.
• There is extensive cultivation of the crop in Chikkaballapura, Mysore, Koppal and Chikmagalur districts.
• Three major varieties of grapes are grown in the state, namely – Thomson seedless, Anab-E-Shahi Dilkush and Bangalore Blue.
• Grape is a capital intensive crop and requires a lot of effort, hard work and investment to produce high quality grapes.