I am looking for Sable Grapes cuttings. These are black, sweet and seedless table grapes. If anyone has some for sale or trade, I would like to hear from them.
rare fruit collector
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You’re not going to find legal cuttings of that available. Like most supermarket grape developed within the last 20 years or so, it’s a brand name for a tightly controlled, privately owned variety. I think the actual variety name is sugra16 and it’s owned by sunworld, which is owned by a private equity group, etc.
The way these things work is the company owns the varieties and only licenses the farmers to grow them, but in the contract, they still retain ownership of all the plants. That way they can control the varieties indefinitely and keep anyone from legally getting them even after the plant patents expire. It’s a sneaky end run around the intent of plant patents designed by corporate lawyer types imho, but it’s technically legal, so it’s why virtually none of the new grapes you see in stores will every be available to the public to grow.
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Thank you for your explanation. That is very disappointing to us hobbyists.
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Actually it’s patent expired, so legal cuttings can be obtained if there is a source for it.
I’m looking for it too, as I tasted it on many occasions and it’s a great variety.
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That’s the sticking point though. Since it’s a privately held variety where cuttings have never been sold, there isn’t a way to get legal cuttings. Any cuttings obtained would have necessarily been obtained fraudulently. That’s why the patent status doesn’t really matter.
This is really interesting. I don’t think there have been many occasions where hobbyists really wanted something and didn’t get their hands on it eventually. The secret varieties that remain unobtainable are usually either not very good to begin with or too difficult to manage.
A cutting can somehow find its way to a farmer and then it’s legal to propagate. This is how we get multiple names for the same cultivar too. The original name and plant is protected but somehow identical grapes/apples/whatever plants get distributed everywhere.
Not if the variety is private property that was never sold. If someone steals your car, and sells it to someone else, does the buyer of stolen goods now own the car legally? No. The original owner does. The fact that it was stolen and resold doesn’t change that. That’s why why companies do it that way with varieties now. It gives them more control than a patent does.
Ninety percent of each years growth is discarded annually.
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Hi JeNel,
If you do find Sable grape cutting, please keep me in mind. I am strictly interested in growing it for personal consumption.
Here in Niagara peninsula, grape pruning is in full force.
Laura
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