A BRIEF HISTORY OF GRAPES IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY OF TEXAS

ROBERT M. TURLEY

According to the Biblical record after the Noahic Deluge, Noah began raising livestock and then planted a vineyard. As the families of men began to increase and migrate all over the earth they took their grape cuttings with them. So, it was in March 16, 1852 four sisters of The Order of The Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament departed for Texas from Lyon, France.

The young women traveled from Lyon to Le Havre by coach where they met a group of priests, brothers and nuns whose destination was also Texas. Sailing on The Belle Assize, from Le Havre on March 23, accompanying these 30 missionaries were 340 men, women and children from the French Province of Alsace, most of whom were Catholic. They too, were going to settle in Texas.

For 52 days they sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, around the peninsula of Florida, across the Gulf to New Orleans and then on to Galveston. They remained in Galveston for nine months to learn English and Spanish sufficiently well to touch in those languages. These four sisters were being brought to Texas to be placed in the Valley of the Rio Grande River. In this area, Brownsville would be the best mission field for them. The journey was continued by boat from Galveston to Port Isabel and overland by buckboard to Brownsville.

Accounts of the travels of the sisters do not include what they brought with them from France, but through the years, it has been reported that when they arrived in Port Isabel, one or more of the sisters were carrying bundles of grape cuttings. The cuttings were probably from vines at the Incarnate Word Monastery of Lyons. Being both French and Catholic, an appreciation of wine and its use in communion is a reasonable speculation for the cuttings, especially in remote areas of the world they served.

The cuttings were probably planted at the Brownsville convent under construction when the sisters arrived in late 1853. That first convent which was located on East Fronton Street was destroyed by a hurricane in 1867. A new convent was constructed the following year with grape cuttings planted to form a huge grape arbor that filled the courtyard and stretched across the southside of the new building.,

Many present day Brownsville residents attended the old convent school and tell of gathering grapes and sweet limes on their way through the school yard. From these little, almost black, sour grapes; delicious wines and jellies were made.

The convent school for 100 years with its once cloistered grounds, the chapel, the dormitory and those delightful grapevines served the people of its church and the city. The old historical building was demolished in 1969. Vines from those grape cuttings brought to Brownsville by the French sisters can be found at the entrance of The Immaculate Conception Cathedral and in a sizable vineyard on the grounds of the Villa Maria High School. Mrs. Margie Celaya, 1104 Belthair, Brownsville, Texas has maintained a keen interest in this grape and has plants from the original cuttings growing in her yard. She has named these plants "Convent". We are indebted to her for much of this information as well as for cuttings now growing at Rio Farms, Inc. vineyard.

Just how valuable grapes were to Texas, however, was not fully appreciated until 1876 when Thomas Volney Munson came to Denison, Texas and found his "grape paradise". It was here he began his. meticulous research into grapes. During his lifelong pursuit, Munson traveled through forty of the states and territories of the U.S. with approximately 50 thousand miles by rail and hundreds on horseback and on foot, isolating and classifying grapes.He studied thousands of vines of nearly every species of American grape and hyridized some three hundred varieties determined to improve the grape. He succeeded, as the Munson Nurseries were renowned throughout the country, shipping grapes and vines to every state and sending thousands of grape cuttings abroad. With the publication of his book "Foundations of American Grape Culture" in 1909, it paved the way for future researchers and pioneers in grapes as it was considered one of the most practical and complete accounts of American grapes.

From the inspiration of T.V. Munson, several attempts were made to grow grapes for home use and local markets in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Attempts were also made to produce grapes on a commercial scale in this area. There was at least one small vineyard near Donna in 1920, and one nurseryman at Brownsville, H.G. Stillwell, selling budded grape vines on native rootstock. Many home owners bought and planted these budded grapevines during this time.

It was demonstrated that California vinifera type grapes such as "Thompson Seedless" ripen at an earlier date in the Valley than they did in California or other production areas in this country. The promotion of this idea resulted in the formation of a Valley Grape Grower's Association, and the planting of several acres of grapes about 1930.

The importance of using adapted rootstocks was well known in the early thirties; however, the urge to get into production as early as possible resulted in the planting of large numbers of grape cuttings, and a few vines on "resistant" rootstocks. These grafted vines were imported from California, and the rootstocks were resistant to the grape root louse (Phyloxera), but were not resistant to Cotton Root Rot (Phymatotrichum omnivorum). All of these early attempts to grow grapes commercially failed, and with Cotton Root Rot as the principal cause of these failures.

Extensive rootstock experiments with grapes were conducted at the then, Texas A&M College Experiment Station near Weslaco during the early thirties. W.J. Bach, then pathologist at the Station concluded that "Champanel", "Dogridge", "Black Spanish", and "Mustang" grape offered the greatest promise as root rot resistant rootstocks for grapes under Valley conditions. Also Ernest Mortensen, Texas Agricultural Station at Crystal City, Texas, had identified "Dogridge", "La Pryor" and the native "Mustang" grapes as desirable rootstocks in an area where Texas Root Rot was a problem.

There was another resurgence of interest in grapes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and another Valley Grape Grower's Association was formed about 1953. The purpose of this organization was to develop, assemble, correlate; and disseminate information relating to grape production in the Valley, Norman Maxwell with the Texas A&M College Experiment Station, Weslaco, began grape variety and rootstock projects. By this time several private investigators had accumulated some experience with varieties of table grapes and root rot resistant rootstocks.

"Dogridge" and "Champanel" were favored as understocks for use in Valley plantings. Both of these grapes were Vitis champani hybrids and both demonstrated their ability to grow vigorously and survive for many years under Valley conditions. "Champanel" showed that it was less tolerant of wet soil conditions and calcareous soils than the "Dogridge" grape. Both are highly resistant to cotton root rot disease. They were being used as understocks for the more desirable table grape varieties. In the early 1950's L.R. Padgett at Rio Farme, Inc. experimented with commercial grape production using Black Spanish (Le Noir)[a wine grape]) and Perlette (table grape).

The first ripe grapes of the 1954 season were harvested by the 3rd week of May at Rio Farme, Inc., Monte Alto, Texas The "Perlette" grapes (grown on their own rootstocks) measured sugars content of 12, and attained acceptable palatability. This early maturity of sweet, thin skinned, seedless, light green grapes under Valley conditions was the basis for the resurgence of interest in grapes again. The "Thompson Seedless" grape was reported to be acceptable by the 2nd week of June.

Once again, these attempts failed. Norman Maxwell concluded this was due to the lack of dormanay occurring in the vinifera varieties. The Valley's moderate fall climate stimulated continual growth and when a frost did occur in late December extensive cane and bud damage occurred removing the possibility of a crop the following year.

In 1938 Charles 0. Foereter of Elsa, Texas, took a Grape Growing correspondence course directed by Professor Frederic T. Bioletti at the University of California, Berkley. From this course he began a life long interest in grapes, in particular, the breeding of vinifera type grapes with the native grape, Vitin candicans, the Mustang Grape.

Dr. Harold P. Olmo, a student in the late thirties of Prof. Bioletti, began a career in breeding vinifera type grapes for California. It was two of, Dr. Olmo's seedless grapes that were used by C.O. Foerster in his grape breeding in the RGV to Introduce the desirable qualities needed to be combined with the wild Mustang grape that grows over most of the State of Texas Irom Mexico to Oklahoma

In March, 1967 a Mustang grape was crossed with Dr. Olmo's “Perlette" seedless grape. It was reported in the Journal of the Rio Grande Valley Horticultural Society, Volume 24, 1970, pages 181-183. A selection of this cross, No. 10, was crossed with Dr. Olmo's large "Centennial" seedless grape in 1986 which resulted in the production of five seedless grapes: "Mother Gloyd", "Charlie","Weisser", "Bebe" and "Comeaux"

In about 1954 Dr. Harry M. Meyer came to the Lower Rio Grande Valley as an employee of the American Refrigeration Transit Company. His assignment was to develop grapes that could be grown

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In 1966, Norman Willms of Los Fresnos, Texas began experimenting with grapes with the objective of developing grapes that had resistance to foliar diseases and grape bunch rot. Hundreds of commercial and breeding lines were evaluated and discarded because they failed to meet the exacting standards imposed by Willms.

In 1972 a cross was made with Vitie candicans collected near Columbus, Texas and a domesticated grape whose identity has been lost. From this cross 36 seeds were obtained from which seven plants survived. These seven plants were evaluated and only one designated as 71-11-4 was found to meet the criteria. This selection was eventually designated as "Muscanal".

This grape retains many of the characteristics of the species parent, Vitis candicans, in that the young stens and leaves have retained the waxy-like fuzz, as well as, the leaf shape and configuration are similar. The fruit is a dark purple and held in a loose pendulous cluster. Berries are of medium size with seeds, often containing as many as 18 per cluster. The berries, as well as, fresh juice and wine retain the aromatic pungency, but at a reduced level of most Vitis candicans. The berries ripen in early July about three weeks earlier than "Mars" and "Venus". The foliage appears to be completely resistant to the foliar diseases that infect other grapes in the Willms vineyard. Fungicides have never been applied in the vineyard. Vine growth is vigorous when grafted on all the different rootstocks that have been tested,however, vigor has not been a limitation on its on roots.

In recent years the Willms vineyard has experienced decline in vigor and survival of its vines, however, "Muscanal" appears to be resistant to this decline as this grape still retains its vigor and productivity. This suggest that "Muscanal" may also be an excellent rootstock for other grapes grown in the Rio Grande Valley. Lukefahr (1991) documented the efforts of Geraldine and Norman Willms to produce grapes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Once again, grape interest has surfaced. On June 21, 1990, Dr. George Ray McEachern, Extension Horticulturist and myself, met with Dr. Maurice J. Lukefahr and Andy Scott, Jr., RaD; and Delbert Langford, General Manager, at Rio Farms, Inc., Monte Alto, Texas to discuss the potential for a cooperative table grape project at Rio Farms. At the present time this project encompasses approximately 3.5 acres and has been expanded to include rootstock studies as well as management of commercial table grape varieties.