Lomanto Bunch Grapes
Lomanto (Salado x Pense)
Characteristics
- Type: Deciduous
- Zone: 6 – 9
- Sugar: 6e Degrees, Acid 7 per Mil
- Harvest: Early July
- Sun: Full Sun
- Soil: Well-Drained Sandy Loam, Loamy Sand, Loam or Clay Loam, pH 5.8 – 6.5
- Pierce’s Disease Tolerant
- Heat and Drought Tolerant
Culture
Lomanto bunch grapes have medium to large deep purple fruit with few small seeds. The self-fertile vines are vigorous and winter hardy. Lomanto clusters are medium-sized, averaging around 1/3 pound. Cluster architecture is conical and moderately compact often with a small wing. A well-trained Lomanto vine can produce 10 to 20 pounds of fruit at a spacing of 6 to 8 feet between vines. Lomanto is grown commercially on a small scale in Texas as a wine grape and is frequently grown as a backyard grape due to its disease resistance and high-quality potential.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Lomanto is a red wine grape cultivar that was developed in 1902 by T.V. Munson in Denison,
Texas. Lomanto resulted from a cross between the hybrid grape cultivar Salado (Vitis Champinii × Brilliant) and Pense. Pense is a synonym for the European grape (Vitis vinifera) cultivar Malaga, meaning that Lomanto is presumably at least 50 percent Vitis vinifera.
Problems
- Lomanto is moderately resistant to powdery mildew yet somewhat susceptible to black rot and downy mildew. For backyard growers, losses from these diseases may not be significant enough to warrant treatment with fungicide sprays. However, commercial vineyards will require protection when conditions are strongly favorable for downy mildew infections (persistent warm, wet weather), and young fruit needs protection against black rot.
- Other diseases such as phomopsis cane, leaf spot, anthracnose, and grapevine trunk diseases may also require control.
- The major insect pest of Lomanto is the grape berry moth.
- Lomanto is somewhat ozone sensitive near urban centers.
Uses
Lomanto bunch grapes have a fruity flavor (with rich complex tones of blueberry, lingering highlights of wild blackberry and mellow sweet oak) and make intensely colored (claret red) jelly and wine. They are popular for jelly and juice; they are also well-suited to make a simple fruity-flavored, semi-sweet red wine.