Onaka is one of a number of hardy

hybrid grape Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more ''Vitis'' species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically ''Vitis vinifera'', the European grapevine. Hybrid grap ...

cultivars produced by the prolific breeder Nels Hansen at

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

. It is a product of a cross of

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

(a hybrid of '' Vitis labrusca'' and ''

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 ...

'' known for its cold hardiness) and Salem (a ''Vitis labrusca'' x ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are cur ...

'' hybrid).Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Onaka
accessed on August 25, 2009 Although never widely cultivated and today largely forgotten, it has contributed to the cold-climate grape-breeding efforts of breeders such as

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 the Upper Midwest of the United States and other cold and short-seasoned ...

and is a likely parent of his variety

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onaka (Grape) Hybrid grape varieties