V. ROYTCHEV
Agricultural University, BG - 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
ROYTCHEV, V., 2005. A scanning electron microscopy study of the surface wax structure in grape berries and raisins from seedless grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 11: 153-158
A scanning electron microscopy study was conducted on the surface of berries and raisins in the seedless grape cultivars ruby seedless, corinth seedless, Russalka 1 and Sultanina. It was established that they had similar vertical profiles and specific horizontal orientation and patterns of their cuticular wax platelets. After being dipped in alkali solution, different changes in their micromorphological structure occurred (due to destruction of wax ornamentation), which affected the process of drying. The microstructural analysis of the wax bloom on berry skins could be used as an additional trait in determining the ampelographic identity of different grape cultivars, as well as the suitability of specific seedless cultivars to be used for producing high-quality raisins.