Muscadine season is back. And it’s been a long wait. Most
fruits are now available
nearly year-round, because they’re grown somewhere in the
Southern Hemisphere during our
winter season — but not muscadines.
These great grapes are grown commercially only in the
southern United States. They
mature during late July, August and September. Southerners have
been eating wild
muscadines since we first set foot in this land.
At one time muscadines could only be found in the wild. But
in the early 1800s a number
of superior wild varieties were selected for cultivation. One of
these was
"Scuppernong." Found on the Scuppernong River in North
Carolina in 1810, it has
become the common name for all bronze muscadines.
The University
of Georgia
Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences has bred muscadines for more than 70 years. This
work has led to a series of
excellent varieties well-adapted to the state.
A big breakthrough came about 25 years ago with the release
of "Fry"
muscadines. These grapes paved the way for the modern fresh-
market muscadine industry.
Fry is well-known for its large size and rich, sweet flavor.
Georgia now has about
1,200 acres of muscadines. Other varieties of note are the
bronze "Summit" and
"Tara," a fairly new, self-fertile muscadine.
The most recent release from the UGA breeding program is
"Scarlett," a
large-fruited, red grape.
We used to think muscadines just tasted good. Indeed, that’s
reason enough to grow them
and get excited about the season. But in recent years, work at
University has shown
them to be powerhouses of healthful eating.
Muscadines are among the world’s richest sources of ellagic
acid (thought to help
prevent cancer) and resveratrol, which helps reduce heart
disease in the so-called
"French paradox." (Frenchmen with rich diets who drink
red wine have much less
heart disease than people in the rest of the world.) Muscadines
are a great source of
dietary fiber, too.
Fall is a good time to order plants for your own backyard. A
number of Georgia
nurseries propagate muscadine plants. Many garden centers have
them in stock.
When planting, be sure to plant self-fertile varieties with
female-flowered types for
cross-pollination. You can find details about planting
muscadines on the World Wide Web at
www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/L225-w.html.
If you have trouble finding plants, contact the county
Extension Service office.
If you’d like to learn even more about growing muscadines,
you may want to come to the
1999 Muscadine Conference (during the Georgia Fruit and
Vegetable Growers Association
Conference) Jan. 8-9 in Savannah. To learn more about the GFVGA,
call (706) 845-8200.
