Ampelographic characterization of some grape genetic resources in the Aegean region of Türkiye

Viticulture has an ancient history worldwide, and thousands of grape cultivars are grown in different countries. Some of these grape cultivars are the same cultivar, but they are grown with different names, and similarly, other varieties are grown with the same name. To prevent this confusion, grape varieties or genotypes must be defined differently. The most widely used definition in the world is ampelographic, and different grapes are preserved by being identified in this way. In this study, 29 of the local grape cultivars or genotypes collected from different vineyard areas of our country, especially in the Aegean Region, and taken under protection were defined regarding 53 different ampelographic characters. As a result of the definitions, it was identified that all of the cultivars/genotypes were seeded and belonged to the Vitis vinifera L. species. According to the similarity dendrogram data from the definitions, the similarity rate between the defined cultivars/genotypes changed between 0.53 and 0.89. The highest similarity rate (0.89) was obtained from the Ak Üzüm and Nuri Bey genotypes with light-coloured berries. It is seen that all cultivars and genotypes are different from each other according to the 53 criteria evaluated. According to the results of the 53 different characters evaluated, it was determined that the varieties/genotypes were the same in terms of the 50th (seed formation) and 48th (intensity of the flesh colouration with anthocyanin) characters. But, there were differences in terms of other characters. According to the results obtained from the study, it was revealed that cultivars/genotypes differed at varying rates, and cultivars /genotypes whose definitions were made were protected for future studies regarding their identified characteristics.