Table grape varieties expected to continue growing on African continent
January 31, 2022 | By Fresh Plaza
Last week, an article was published about IFG’s cherry breeding activities on the African continent. Around the same time the company brought cherries to South Africa, it also planted the first table grapes and has continued to expand its selection of varieties since then. “We started planting table grapes in South Africa in 2011, Namibia in 2012, followed by Egypt in 2017,” says De Witt Kamfer, IFG’s Technical Manager for Africa & Middle East.
Although breeding is done exclusively at the company’s Research & Development facility in California, evaluation of the developed grapes is done in the different African countries. “We focus on evaluating our varieties in different microclimates in each country,” commented Kamfer. “With its wealth of climate zones, South Africa has several different table grape production areas. However, not all varieties will be successful in all areas.”
