Format: ORAL

Anne L. Frances1 Wesley M. Knapp2

1 Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, USA 2 NatureServe, Arlington, USA

Crop wild relatives are wild plants closely related to domesticated crop species. The genetic diversity found in crop wild relatives is utilized to improve crops in many ways, including increased resistance to pests and pathogens, and tolerance of heat, cold, and drought. Grapes are one of the most economically valuable crops globally, but production of grapevines is hindered by pests, pathogens, and climatic changes. North American wild grape germplasm was critical in providing resistance to the pest, phylloxera, that plagued many European vineyards in the late 1800s. North America is a major center of grape diversity, with about 25 taxa native to the United States. Several native North American Vitis taxa are used as rootstock for the cultivated grapevine (V. vinifera) or for scion breeding. North American wild grapes have been cultivated for their fruit for centuries, particularly muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia). Due to changing climatic conditions, North American native grapes are increasingly important to improving the cultivated grapevine. As with other native plants, crop wild relatives are becoming more threatened, and further efforts are needed for conservation. However, information on the complementary conservation (in situ and ex situ) of North American native grapes is lacking and scattered among different stakeholder groups. To more comprehensively conserve North American Vitis, we convened a collaborative workshop in November 2022, which brought together 20 scientists from the agricultural and conservation communities to identify conservation gaps in North American native grapes. We will discuss the conservation status of native grapes, the importance of hybrid wine grapes for sustainability, and a roadmap for the complementary conservation of North American grapes. We will also address the positive outcomes from collaborating with multiple stakeholder groups to conserve crop wild relatives.