Are seeds from a 45 yr. old concord grape vine desirable?

[Teammolly]

Are concord grape seeds better the older the plant gets? Is it better to get seeds from a younger plant? Are seeds from a 45 year old plant different than ones from a 5 year old plant?

 

[DirtMechanic]

Are concord grape seeds better the older the plant gets? Is it better to get seeds from a younger plant? Are seeds from a 45 year old plant different than ones from a 5 year old plant?

They may be sterile and not grow. They may grow with tender care. You should try to germinate them and find out. Do you need to know how to germinate them?

As to age, I believe it is the wine that needs to mature more so than the seed.

 

[Marck]

Hello, and welcome to the Forum.

You mean the mother plant is forty-five years old, not that the seeds are that old, right?

The age of a parent plant would not in itself make its offspring more or less valuable for agriculture or other use, unless you determined that its longevity, was 1) unusual, 2) beneficial, and 3) genetically-based.

If your mother plant is actually a Concord Grape (Vitis x 'Concord') then it is already a well-known genetic entity. It is a hybrid involving both Vitis labrusca and Vitis vinifera. Of course, Concord grapes have been around for over 170 years, so it is likely that there are multiple strains, due either to somatic mutations or later misapplication of the name.

 

[wkevinc]

Are concord grape seeds better the older the plant gets? Is it better to get seeds from a younger plant? Are seeds from a 45 year old plant different than ones from a 5 year old plant?

My rec would be run your own experiment and find out. Any answer you get here is probably going to be speculation. That said, to speculate, I would imagine your young-ish plants produce the best seed. Like grapes are a slow growing, tree-adjacent sort of plant. With stuff like that I find that the really young shit and the really old shit isn't as good as the medium-age shit. That's all I can really say with confidence.

 

[DirtMechanic]

My rec would be run your own experiment and find out. Any answer you get here is probably going to be speculation. That said, to speculate, I would imagine your young-ish plants produce the best seed. Like grapes are a slow growing, tree-adjacent sort of plant. With stuff like that I find that the really young shit and the really old shit isn't as good as the medium-age shit. That's all I can really say with confidence.

Well shit! That ain't bad advice!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Have to test the seeds with water to see if any are alive. then I would try those alive. Never know.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

I'm bit puzzled why you would go to all that trouble. Why don't you just propagate from cuttings like the pros do?

 

[Marck]

Growing or propagating a named cultivar will giver a viticulturist a known entity, but growing from seed will give something new and different, often not any better, but occasionally quite so. It is actually better for epidemiological resistance to disease and maintainence of genetic diversity to grow plants from seed, as long as quality and yield can be maintained.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Yeah, well thanks for your obligatory "reply". You really don't have to reply to every single post on here just for the sake of it. Our eldest owns Concord vineyards, he is on the board of one of the leading buyers and producers of grape juice and does contract picking, so he knows a thing or two about the subject. The original poster only asked about the viability and quality of seeds depending on the age of the vine. They did not mention trying to propagate new varieties.

 

[Marck]

Yes, the OP did ask about seed propagation. You are the one who first brought up the topic of vegetative propagation. Also listing possible credentials are irrelevent to the facts, credentials of a relative no less.