During 2018 and 2019, Australian growers traveled to Cuyo, in central-west Argentina, to obtain cuttings of Serena INTA, an Argentine table grape developed by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology’s (INTA) genetic improvement program.
At the end of 2020, Victoria-based company Louis Melbourne a confidential material evaluation, security, and exclusivity agreement with the institute. Once the pandemic subsided, the cuttings began their journey to Australia in January 2023.
So far, the company has initiated the cultivation of Serena INTA in Robinvale, Victoria, with plans to plant it next year in the subtropical state of Queensland. This could advance the harvest by two to three months.
Stakeholders eagerly await the first fruits to assess the plants’ adaptability to the soil and climatic conditions of the region.
In 1995, INTA launched a genetic improvement program for table grapes aimed at developing seedless varieties to enhance Argentina's competitiveness in the international market.
After nearly 30 years of field and laboratory trials, nine seedless grape varieties were registered in the National Register of Cultivars of Argentina: three white (Esperanza INTA, Resistencia INTA, and Grandeza INTA), three black (Fernandina INTA, Revelación INTA, and Sorpresa INTA), two red (Serena INTA and Marisela INTA), and one pink variety (Delicia INTA).
Producers, exporters, and technicians from both companies visited INTA's demonstration plots at its Agricultural Experimental Stations in San Juan, Mendoza, and Junín to learn about the crop characteristics and the quality of the grape bunches.
In addition, local producers who already cultivate INTA varieties have received support in observing different management practices to optimize their crops and integrate these varieties into commercial markets.
