Objectives and partners
The Pl@ntGrape project is one of the many case studies of the Pl@ntNet platform initiated in October 2009 by the Agropolis Foundation (consortium agreement between the CIRAD, INRA, INRIA and IRD) to support agronomy research and sustainable development. This project is carried out by the Unité Mixte Technologique Géno-Vigne®, in partnership with UMR AMAP of Montpellier. As such, it associates the expertise of the IFV, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, IRD, INRIA, CNRS and the CIRAD on the subject of genetic resources of vines and new information technologies.
The first objective of Pl@ntGrape is to draw up validated and updated summary information, available on the varieties and the vine clones grown in France, throughout Europe and the world. This is aimed for anyone wanting information on vine varieties: vine-growers, nursery growers, technicians, researchers, students, wine connoisseurs, etc.
The starting point of the internet site is the second edition of the "Catalogue des Variétés et clones de vigne cultivés en France" (Catalogue of Vine Varieties and Clones grown in France) published in 2007 (IFV publishers). Additional information and new varietal and clone sheets have been added, following registration updates and authorizations given by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Pl@ntGrape likewise proposes a vine variety morphology recognition intuitive tool. This varietal identification assistance is entirely visual and requires no a priori “ampelographic” knowledge. The users, by simply selecting identification characteristics drawing, draw up a composite drawing of the sought vine variety.The corresponding number and list of varieties are updated with each new characteristic used, thus facilitating the identification procedure. The work carried out is based on identifying all the vine varieties referenced in the official catalogue using a spefically designed software tool; IDAO