Grape Cultivation and Breeding in Tropical Regions: A Review

Tropical viticulture has reached a considerable scale worldwide. Driven by innovative production systems such as two-harvests-a-year cultivation and ripening regulation, tropical grape-growing regions have become dynamic and economically significant viticultural areas. Most grape varieties currently cultivated in the tropics were originally bred in traditional temperate zones. When introduced to tropical regions, they often suffer from poor dormancy release, high disease and pest pressure, and compromised fruit quality. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct localized breeding directly under tropical stress conditions (e.g., high temperature, high humidity) to develop varieties with key target traits, including low chilling requirement, heat tolerance, disease resistance, suitability for two-harvest cultivation, good flavor, and good storage and transport tolerance. This paper systematically reviews the current status and breeding progress of the grape industry in major tropical viticultural regions, such as India, Brazil, and China. It summarizes the advances made by breeding teams in these countries in germplasm collection, crossbreeding, bud mutation selection, and the breeding and release of new varieties. The review concludes that developing adapted varieties through targeted breeding in tropics is essential for the sustainable and high-quality development of the grape industry in tropical regions.