Flame Seedless
An early, red seedless table grape grown for the coloured fresh market.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Grapes
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Early
- Expected yield
- High
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate
- Release
- Released in 1973 by the USDA Horticultural Crops Research Station, Fresno, California, USA. An introduced variety, not bred in India.
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Flame Seedless is a Vitis vinifera table grape bred at the USDA research station in Fresno, California. Breeders Weinberger and Harmon made the cross in 1961 and it was released in 1973. Its parentage is entirely European: (Cardinal × Sultanina) crossed with ((Red Malaga × Tifafihi Ahmer) × (Muscat of Alexandria × Sultanina)). It is valued for firm, crisp, round red berries and early ripening. In India it is grown chiefly around Nashik, Maharashtra, and it has been recommended in trials as a table grape for the subtropics of North India for its high yield, bunch weight and sugar.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Flame Seedless if you want an early red seedless grape with firm, crisp, round berries for the coloured fresh market. Unlike Sonaka, Manik Chaman and Sharad Seedless, which are Maharashtra growers' selections, it is a bred variety from a US research station with a recorded pedigree, and it is grown chiefly around Nashik, with fruit usually available February to April. A North Indian trial gave 27.5 kg per vine with strong sugar. The catches: it is an introduced variety, and no source confirms it in Karnataka. Choose Thompson Seedless for the green mainstream grape and raisins. Choose Sharad Seedless if you want a black grape that comes later, from October to February.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- It was bred in a US programme (USDA Fresno, 1961 cross, 1973 release), not at an Indian ICAR institute. It is an introduced variety.
- Commercial planting is tied mainly to Nashik, Maharashtra, with trial plots in subtropical North India. No source confirms Karnataka, although it is plausible given the Maharashtra–Karnataka grape belt. Karnataka stays in the state list as unconfirmed. If you farm there, start with a small block.
- A North Indian trial recorded 27.5 kg of fruit per vine with strong TSS (sugar), which fits the "High" yield rating.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
An early red grape: plan around the February–April window
Flame Seedless fruit is usually available February to April. That is its selling point: coloured table grapes reach the market early, before the later varieties.
Work backwards from February. Tell your buyer in advance how many kilos, in which weeks, and what colour and bunch size they should expect. Early fruit sells on certainty.
Keep a note of each year's pruning and picking dates. After two seasons you will know how your own vines run, which is more useful than any general number.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This crop is raised from cuttings, not from seed, so you can take your own planting material. Take cuttings only from healthy, well-grown plants that are true to the variety, and never from one that showed disease — a cutting carries its mother plant with it. Where a nursery or a government farm sells clean planting material, that is the safer start.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Grapes variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anab-e-Shahi | A seeded, amber heritage table grape for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana buyers who still ask for it | Bearing from year 2–3 (rooted-cutting-raised vine) | 300–350 q/ha at full bearing | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| Bangalore Blue | A fox-grape (Vitis labrusca) for juice, jam, jelly and wine, grown only in the Nandi Valley zone of Karnataka | Mid | High | Karnataka |
| Flame Seedlessthis page | An early, red, firm seedless table grape for the coloured fresh market, grown around Nashik | Early | High | Maharashtra, Karnataka |
| Manik Chaman | A sweet, elongated-berry Thompson Seedless mutant grown mainly for raisins in Maharashtra | ~140 days | Very high | Maharashtra |
| Sharad Seedless | A black, thick-skinned seedless grape that ripens later than Thompson, for the October–February market | Bearing from year 2–3 (rooted-cutting-raised vine) | 200–250 q/ha at full bearing | Maharashtra |
| Sonaka | A golden, large-berry Thompson Seedless mutant for the fresh and export market, also used for raisins | ~140 days | Very high | Maharashtra |
| Thompson Seedless | The base green seedless grape for table and raisins in Maharashtra and Karnataka, for farmers who run a monsoon spray programme | Bearing from year 2–3 (rooted-cutting-raised vine) | 250–300 q/ha at full bearing | Maharashtra, Karnataka |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Grapes is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Grapes plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Grapes variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Grapes into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Grapes rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Grapes seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Flame Seedless originally come from?
It was bred at the USDA research station in Fresno, California, USA (1961 cross, released 1973) — it is an introduced variety in India, not a domestically bred one.
Where is Flame Seedless mainly grown in India?
Chiefly around Nashik, Maharashtra, with produce typically available February to April; it has also performed well in North Indian subtropical trial plots.
Is Flame Seedless a high yielder?
Yes — a North Indian trial recorded 27.5 kg of fruit per vine with high sugar (TSS) content, corroborating the "High" yield rating.
Is Flame Seedless confirmed in Karnataka specifically?
Sources checked do not confirm it. They focus on Maharashtra (Nashik) and North India. Karnataka stays in the state list as plausible but unconfirmed, so start with a small block if you farm there.
What does the berry look like?
Round, firm, crisp, red berries in medium-sized clusters — an early-ripening variety.
Flame Seedless or Thompson Seedless: which should I plant?
Flame Seedless is red, firm and early, for the coloured fresh market. Thompson Seedless is green, dual-purpose (table and raisins) and the base of most Indian grape trade, but it is later and spraying cannot slip in the monsoon. If your buyer wants colour in February to April, Flame Seedless fits. For raisins, Thompson or its mutants.
When is Flame Seedless ready for sale?
It is an early variety, and the fruit is usually available February to April, mainly from Nashik. No day count from pruning is published. Note your own pruning date and picking date for a few seasons.
Can I grow Flame Seedless in North India?
It has been recommended in trials as a table grape for the subtropics of North India for its high yield, bunch weight and sugar, and one trial recorded 27.5 kg per vine. That is trial plots, not wide commercial planting. Start with a small block and keep records.
Is 27.5 kg per vine a number I can budget on?
Treat it as a trial result from one North Indian site, not a promise. It supports the "High" yield rating. Your own yield depends on your pruning, spraying and weather, so budget on the first full year of your own vines.
Can I grow Flame Seedless from seed?
No. It is seedless, and it is multiplied from rooted cuttings. Buy rooted cuttings with a bill that names Flame Seedless. Ask where the mother vines are and whether you can see them.
Sourced from: Grapes, TNAU Agritech Portal (lists Flame Seedless among the grape varieties normally cultivated). editorial policy.