Foundation Plant Services (FPS) is the headquarters for NCPN-Grape activities and is home to the largest grape collection in the Network. NCPN-Grapes recently adopted a strategic plan that prioritizes locating each grape selection in two locations, either at two different centers or both indoors and outdoors at the same Center. This priority aligns with efforts at FPS to construct a greenhouse to increase capacity to protect grapevines indoors.
On May 31, 2023, staff from FPS and the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences were joined by grape industry representatives to celebrate breaking ground for a new greenhouse. California’s grape industry has generously provided funding for construction and propagation efforts. The greenhouse will hold grapevines representing up to 700 priority selections from the FPS grape collection. Efforts to propagate clean plant material that will be maintained indoors, protected from vector-borne pathogens, have been a focus for FPS this year. With industry input to determine priority grape selections, the FPS team has been collecting propagative material from the FPS Classic Foundation Vineyard to create backups in the greenhouse collection.
Funding for the new greenhouse was provided by the California Fruit Tree, Nut Tree and Grapevine Improvement Advisory Board, managed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Grape Rootstock Research Foundation, and the California Grape Rootstock Commission. Propagation and testing of materials destined for the new greenhouse is partially funded by NCPN and CDFA PD/GWSS Board.
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