Princess

Abstract

Princess is a midto late-mid season white seedless table grape developed by David Ramming and Ron Tarailo of the USDA-ARS in Fresno, CA. Formerly known and tested as USDA selection C45-59, this cultivar was released in the spring of 1999 as “Melissa”. Due to trademark conflict, the name of the cultivar was renamed “Princess”. Princess resulted from the cross of Crimson Seedless and B40-208, an unreleased USDA selection producing white, seedless berries with muscat flavor. The cultivar produces large, greenish white berries that ripen in early to midAugust. The harvest period is just ahead of, or about the same time as Thompson Seedless. Clusters are conical with small to medium shoulders, and generally less compact than Thompson Seedless. Berry shape is generally cylindrical or similar to table Thompson Seedless, although berry size may be greater with cultural practices. The berries are firm and have a slight floral or muscat character when fully mature. The commercial appeal of Princess rests on its large berry size, late maturity and excellent eating quality. There are approximately 2,200 acres of Princess in commercial production in California.