Paulsen 779

Origin and Agronomic Importance

The grape rootstock Paulsen 779 was obtained by the Sicilian breeder Federico Paulsen in 1894 in Palermo. The official inclusion of the variety into the national register of Italy took place on March 26, 1971. This variety has an important practical value in nursery management, ensuring a stable production of certified saplings, with the total annual output of commercial material exceeding 400 000–500 000 units during peak periods.

The variety is characterized by a reliable resistance to the root form of phylloxera, although in some years the development of leaf galls on lateral shoots is possible. It possesses good resistance to fungal diseases. This rootstock variety demonstrates a pronounced adaptation to dry and severely drought conditions, and also successfully tolerates chlorotic soils. Due to these characteristics, it provides a technological advantage on such sites over the Rupestris du Lot and 420 A forms.

This grape rootstock ensures good vigor for the scion. Practical cultivation experience indicates a satisfactory affinity and high grafting compatibility with traditional Sicilian wine grape varieties.

Ampelographic Description of the Rootstock Variety Paulsen 779

The identification of the rootstock Paulsen 779 is performed based on the following ampelographic characteristics:

• Young shoot: The tip of the young shoot is moderately expanded, greenish-bronze, with sparse pubescence. The first three apical leaves are gutter-shaped, with bristly pubescence along the veins, and feature a characteristic shiny greenish-reddish-bronze coloration.
• Growing shoot: The stem is slightly curved, ribbed, with arachnoid pubescence, and wine-red on one side. The herbaceous shoot is polygonal in cross-section and covered with short velvety pubescence, which is more pronounced in the node zone. The internodes have a reddish-violet coloration, and the nodes are colored brown-violet. The tendrils are intermittent, bifid, red-violet, and equipped with long hairs.
• Adult leaf: The leaf blade is small, orbicular, entire, with a slightly wavy profile. The upper side of the leaf is smooth, glabrous, shiny, and light green; the lower side is also light green, with very short bristly pubescence on the veins. On the upper side of the blade, the veins near their base acquire a pinkish tint. The petiole sinus is open and V-shaped. The fourth to sixth leaves are completely spread out, with veins that are pinkish at the base. The teeth are medium in size, regular, with convex margins, and short-pointed (mucronate).
• Petiole: It is short, covered with short velvety pubescence, bristly, red-violet on one side, with a poorly visible groove.
• Inflorescence (flower type): Male flowers.
• Woody shoot: The lignified canes are of medium length and strength, branched, and nearly smooth without pubescence. The cross-section of the shoot is slightly elliptical. The coloration of the cane is greyish with brown longitudinal stripes. The internodes are of medium length (12–14 cm), and the buds are pointed.

Nursery Management and Propagation Features

In mother plantations, the variety has a spreading bush form. The variety is distinguished by good and timely wood maturation. According to phenological phases, bud burst, flowering, and autumn leaf fall occur in relatively late terms. The grape rootstock Paulsen 779 is technological during propagation under nursery conditions, as its cuttings possess a high capacity for rapid rooting, which ensures a stable yield of first-grade saplings during the production of bench grafts.