Wild grapevine (Vitis vinifera var. slivestris) in Italy: Distribution, characteristics and germplasm preservation-1989 report

esearch on the distribution and characteristics of wild grapevines (Vitis vinifera var. silvestris) in Italy was started whose main goals are: the preservation of the germplasm by setting up plant collections; the furthering of biological knowledge about this plant; the study of relations between wild and cultivated grapevines by means of chemotaxonomic techniques; the assessment of the possibility of using wild plants for genetic improvement of grapevines. The gathering of data began in 1984. 221 sites in 15 out of the 20 Italian regions have been indicated as possible locations in which wild grapevines grow. So far, 49 of these sites have been inspected. The greatest number of individuals were found in central Italy. This population is dioecious (male/female = 1.8) with few (2.0 %) hermaphrodite examples. The leaves of the Italian wild grapevines generally have 3 lobes (57 %), but 5 to 7-lobe (36%) and non-lobed (8.9 %) plants exist. Lower variability exists with regard to leaf shape. The study of seed morphology has classified the plants into three groupe, one of which is very numerous. Two germplasm collections have been established with approximately 400 vines.