grape cross-pollination?

Hello, All

Thanks in advance for help.

I'm preparing to plant grapes. I have some Concords. I've also ordered Muscadine (Cowart and Jumbo).

Does anyone know if I need to be concerned about cross pollination? I'm not worried about the seeds, but the fruit is a concern. It seems like the Muscadines have to be pretty close to each other to assure pollination. I have plenty of room to keep them separate, but it would be more costly to water, harvest etc.

Also, is there a book you would recommend related to this?

Thanks!

--JS

I don't have a definitive answer yet. I did run across this publication...

http://www.mavo.biz/Reprints/Detjen1919a.pdf

It looks like they won't pollinate each other.

Growing up, my family had a neighbor who owned a small farm just outside of town where he had planted grapes. I don't recall the exact type that he planted(some wine variety I think) but I do recall him being really upset that they were cross pollinated with the wild grapes nearby. The wild grapes would have been muscadine or scuppernong.

The interesting part of this is that it will be 2 or 3 years before I know whether or not it's an issue!

Just so you know grapes and muscadines / scuppernongs do not cross.

Also things that cross do not affect the fruit that is produced, only the seed. The plant that is planted from the crossed seed will have varying attributes of the parents.

Easiest way to explain it is I would not affect my "wife" if I pollinated her. But she would carry on part of my traits with our child.

AFAIK (discounting other wild vitis species I am not familiar with), the muscadines are the only ones you really have to worry about pollination with. Most cultivated grapes are self-fertile. In addition, around 80% of wild muscadine seedlings are male, so with surrounding woods you may even be okay without a pollinator.