Climatic resistance in some interspecific wine grape hybrid families

In the lowland wine regions, which comprise almost half of the total wine production area in Hungary, meteorological observations indicate that severe winter frosts and deficiencies in precipitation occur in every 3rd year. Under these conditions, stable production requires varieties which can tolerate -23 to -25 °C and can be grown at a low yearly precipitation of 350-400 mm. A part of our breeding programme includes breeding of wine grape varieties with climatic resistance. In our crosses interspecific and Eurasian hybrids are used as gene sources. In the progenies of hybrid families some individuals with excellent winterhardiness have segregated. Their distribution and characters are presented