Elmer Swenson (12 December 1913 – 24 December 2004) was a pioneering grape breeder who introduced a number of new cultivars, effectively revolutionizing grape growing in the Upper Midwest of the United States and other cold and short-seasoned regions.

Biography

Elmer Swenson worked on a farm near

Osceola, Wisconsin Osceola is a village in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,568 at the 2010 census. Located mostly within the Town of Osceola, the village sits on the border with Minnesota, separated by the St. Croix River. It is alon ...

which he had inherited from his maternal grandfather Larson, an immigrant from Sweden. Swenson began breeding grapes in 1943, starting a program of intercrossing French hybrid grapes with selections of the local wild species, ''

Vitis riparia ''Vitis riparia'' Michx, with common names riverbank grape or frost grape, is a vine indigenous to North America. As a climbing or trailing vine, it is widely distributed across central and eastern Canada and the central and northeastern parts ...

''. He was inspired by the work of T.V. Munson, a Texas breeder who had documented the American grape species and heavily utilized them in his breeding. Swenson hoped to generate seedlings capable of producing high quality fruit in his climate, something few if any cultivars could do reliably at that time. For ten years beginning in 1969, Swenson took a job caring for fruit crops at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, and he began to conduct some of his work there, although the bulk of his breeding program remained at his own farm. His first two hybrids, '

Edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...

' and ' Swenson Red', were joint releases with the University of Minnesota, but further releases were independently released. Swenson always maintained a very liberal policy of sharing breeding selections, sending cuttings to just about anyone who asked. Five of his hybrids were patented, but many more were freely distributed, and many cultivars were even named by other people, which has resulted in a degree of confusion.''Vintage of a lifetime'' (Auri Ag Innovation News April 2000. Vol. 9, No. 2)

Cultivars Developed By Elmer Swenson

Patented cultivars: *

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

* St. Theresa * St. Pepin *

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

* Espirit *

Kay Gray Kay Gray was developed by the Wisconsin grape breeder Elmer Swenson Elmer Swenson (12 December 1913 – 24 December 2004) was a pioneering grape breeder who introduced a number of new cultivars, effectively revolutionizing grape growing in th ...

Co-released with University of Minnesota: * Swenson Red *

Minnesota 78 Minnesota 78 is an old selection of grapevine, developed at the University of Minnesota. It was extensively used in breeding by Elmer Swenson, with its ''Vitis riparia'' background providing a degree of adaptation to the harsh climate of the uppe ...

Others: * Kandiyohi * Sabrevois * Norway Red *

Alpenglow Alpenglow (from german: Alpenglühen, lit=Alps glow; it, enrosadira) is an optical phenomenon that appears as a horizontal reddish glow near the horizon opposite to the Sun when the solar disk is just below the horizon. Description Strict ...

* Petit Jewel * Prairie Star *

Louise Swenson Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

*Trollhaugen * Swenson White * Summersweet *

Brianna ''Brianna'', ''Breanna'', ''Breanne'', ''Briana'', ''Brina'', and ''Bryanna'' are feminine given names. ''Brianna'' is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name ''Brian'' as "Briana" is the original spelling. The name is ...

* Delisle * Montreal Blue (aka 'St. Theresa' and 'Flambeau') * Aldemina * Somerset Seedless * Laura's Laughter * Osceola Muskat aka Muscat de Swenson

References

External links

Swenson Preservation ProjectTribute to Elmer SwensonStatus and Future of the Swenson Hybrids
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swenson, Elmer 1913 births 2004 deaths American horticulturists American viticulturists People from Osceola, Wisconsin American people of Swedish descent University of Minnesota people