Agriculture Department scientists have developed a new black seedless grape they say is sweet, crisp and juicy and could become a big hit at the supermarket in a few years.
The Black Emerald is the result of more than six years of research, crossing a seedless variety with a seeded type, according to Agriculture Research magazine."The berries are about the size of a dime with an attractive dark black skin. The flesh is translucent, firm and almost crisp," said grape and tree fruit breeder David Ramming, who helped develop the new variety.
Ramming and fellow researcher Ronald Tarailo hope that this combination of traits will attract buyers to the Black Emerald. The competition from other grapes will also be diminished since the new variety ripens in mid-May, after the peak time for Perlette, a white seedless grape, and before the ripening of popular red grape Flame Seedless.
"Black Emerald fills a unique niche because it's ready to harvest at a time when you can't find another top-quality, U.S.-grown, black seedless grape at the supermarket," Ramming said.
He added that the only black seedless grapes available at that time are either of lower quality or imported varieties that are not as fresh.
However, buyers shouldn't look for the grape in their supermarkets now. Black Emerald was only made available to breeders and commercial growers this past spring, and it could take three to five years for enough vines to be planted to market the new variety nationally.
During the course of the research, Ramming and his colleagues followed the progress of around 800 Black Emerald vines growing on more than a dozen commercial California vineyards and at a research facility at California State University in Fresno.
California leads the nation in grape production, and the state's Table Grape Commission helped fund the research.
Cuttings and young vines of the Black Emerald strain can be ordered in 4-inch pots through the Foundation Plant Materials Service of the University of California at Davis.