Berlandieri x Rupestris

24 October, 2006

Rootstocks that belong to this group are more vigorous than rootstocks belonging to any other group.

They are very drought resistant and are mostly found in warmer viticultural regions. Their long and deep plunging root system makes them a favourable rootstock for hot and dry regions.

They have high Phylloxera resistance, some nematode resistance and will tolerate soils high in lime.

The vegetative growing cycle is longer then any of the other crosses thus making them less adequate for cool climate viticulture.

Rootstocks from this group are reported to be reasonably adaptable to poor growing conditions in regards to dry areas with infertile soils.

The use of these rootstocks in fertile soils is not recommended.

Rootstocks derived from the Berlandieri x Rupestris crosses:

1103 Paulsen

This rootstock is a selection created from a vine nursery in Sicily in 1892 by Dr Paulsen and is used in hot areas with high lime content soils.

Varieties grafted onto 1103P mature late in the season due to its long growing cycle and are susceptible to wet feet.

In France it performs well in acid soils and has a moderate tolerance to salt

It performs well in hot non irrigated areas in the Barossa.

99 Richter

Bred by Franz Richter in 1889

99R has probably got the shortest growing cycle compared to the other rootstocks within this group.

However, maturity is still delayed when compared with rootstocks from other crosses.

99R performs well in a wide variety of soils but poorly drained sites should be avoided.

It tolerates drought, high lime and also acid soils but does not tolerate salt

99R has performed very well in Australian trials in Greater Victoria.

In France under dry conditions it is inferior to 110R and in South Africa it I considered to be the best rootstock for deep fertile soils under irrigation.

110 Richter

Another cross bred by Franz Richter in 1889.

In Spain, Greece, France, Turkey and North Africa, 110R is more widely used then 99R. It has also been very popular for replanting vineyards in California to replace the Phylloxera affected AXR 1.

Again this is a vigorous rootstock with a long vegetative cycle that delays fruit maturity.

It is not advisable for varieties with irregular set such as Merlot and Gewurtztraminer

The root system is not as deep growing as 99R.

Its resistance to drought is better then 99R and 110R performs good in badly drained soils.

In the Greater Victoria region of Australia, 110R has consistently shown lower vigour and lower yields compared to other rootstocks from this group. This is in contrast with other regions where 110R is reported to be very vigorous.

The rootstock is highly resistant to Phylloxera and has moderate resistance to nematodes Young vine growth during establishment can be slow.

140 Ruggeri

This rootstock comes from Sicily and was created by Ruggeri in 1897.

This is a very vigorous rootstock that can cause poor fruit set in fertile soils due to excess vigour.

Red varieties grafted to 140Ru in Australia are reported to have reduced colour.

The root system is very deep growing and well branched. 140Ru has a long vegetative cycle and delays maturity.

The rootstock performs well in calcareous soils; it has the most resistance to lime within his group, is very drought tolerant and has resistance to salinity.

As can be seen by studying the above characteristic, suitability for the Marlborough region is limited. However, some of these rootstocks are being used in the district without use of irrigation. When these rootstocks are being chosen for reasons due to lack of water or in the 140Ru case resistance to lime, all other characteristics should be kept in mind and viticultural practices should be applied accordingly.