Description
Autumn King is a late-season white seedless table grape from the USDA-ARS breeding programme in California. It was bred by David Ramming and Ronald Tarailo, crossed in 1993 and released in 2006. Its pale green berries are naturally very large, often 8–10 g without any sizing treatments. They are cylindrical to ovoid, firm, and sweet with a neutral flavour. It ripens about eight weeks after Thompson Seedless and keeps well in cold storage.
Characteristics
White (pale green) seedless table grape; very large cylindrical to ovoid berries; firm flesh; sweet, neutral flavour; medium conical bunches of about 0.5 kg; late ripening; medium to high vigour; good cold storage
Growing Tips
Autumn King is cane-pruned, and California advisers suggest keeping 5–8 canes of 12–15 buds. Don't use gibberellin sprays at berry set: the variety is extremely sensitive to them and next year's crop suffers. Remove leaves touching the bunches after set, but keep the fruit shaded until near harvest so the berries don't yellow. Its very late harvest makes it risky where autumn rain or early frost is common. It is patented and licensed, so plants are not freely available outside the USA.