Newsletters


Spring 2016
You can have the most disease resistant and cold tolerant grape varieties, but if they don’t taste great and look appealing on a plate or in a glass there’s no point in growing them. This issue of VitisGen Voice looks at some of the work done by VitisGen scientists that focus on the genetic control of compounds that influence the taste, aroma and color of grapes and the products made from them, and how breeders can use that information to develop new varieties that will appeal to consumers.


Spring 2015
This issue focuses on the work of the Low Temperature Response Team, which is working to better understand the genetic factors that influence how grapevines survive extreme winter temperatures, and the timing of when vines emerge from dormancy, which can determine whether they suffer early spring frosts or not.


Spring 2014
This issue of the ‘VitisGen Voice’ newsletter focuses on one of the primary traits that we are trying to tackle in VitisGen-powdery mildew resistance. Learn about why incorporating resistance to powdery mildew in new grape varieties can benefit both the industry and consumers, and how VitisGen scientists identify resistant and susceptible vines in the lab. This issue also includes a summary of the VitisGen project's annual meeting held in Geneva NY in February 2014, and short progress reports from each of the VitisGen teams.


Winter 2013.
This issue introduces VitisGen, providing a broad overview of the project and its long term goals. In addition, it outlines the five, collaborative teams that make up the project: Extension and Outreach, Trait Economics, Trait Evaluation, Genotyping and Breeding. This inaugural issue also provides a short interview with the Project Director, Bruce Reisch, and establishes regular newsletter features such a 'Vitisgen Vocabulary' and 'Publications and Presentations'.


Funding for VitisGen "Accelerating grape cultivar improvement via phenotyping centers and next generation markers" is provided by a Specialty Crop Research Initiative Competitive Grant, Award No. 2011-51181-30635, of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This site is hosted at Cornell University. Copyright © 2015.