Project Title: Germplasm characterization and climatic zoning for viticulture in Lebanon

Project partner/Funding Agency:  Internal

Principal Faculty Investigator: Salma N. Talhouk

PhD Student Investigator: Imad Emile Riachy

Summary

Despite the importance of grapes as number one fruit commodity in Lebanon little research has been done at the national level. Best variety-climatic region combination, which is essential for the production of quality wines, has not been defined, nor has there been any classification of local varieties. The first objective of this study was to survey and characterize local grape varieties according to internationally recognized parameters and test their suitability for wine production. The second objective was to define current grape growing areas in Lebanon and delineate future potential grape growing regions. A total of 38 grape varieties were found, 10 of these were imported. Chemical analyses of the local varieties revealed that the majority was suitable for fresh consumption. Only 2 varieties, ‘Mirweih’ and ‘Bikaai, were suitable for wine production and might have a potential as a Lebanese varietal wine grape. Commercial vineyards constituted half the surveyed sites (886) and included a predominant production system on terraced lands. This system is adopted almost exclusively in Mount Lebanon (95.9%). In contrast, commercial production on non-terraced slopes was mainly found in Aarsal, Ain-arab and its surrounding villages (85%). The survey revealed that training and pruning methods were not adequate and contributes to the production of low quality fruits due to shoot and cluster crowding. Maps to delineate viticultural zones in Lebanon were generated according to degree-days and latitude-corrected degree-days. The majority of wine grape growing areas is currently located in West Bekaa that was identified as a warm viticulture zone(region IV) .In contrast, the study revealed that viticulture could be expanded to other cool areas(regions II and I) which are more suitable for the production of premium grape varieties.