Term for the transfer of pollen grains from one flower to the stigma of a second flower on another plant (cross-pollination), which triggers cross-fertilisation (xenogamy). In the case of grapevines, this can be a neighbouring vine of the same variety or a vine of a different variety from a neighbouring vineyard. This contrasts with self-pollination (self-fertilisation) within a hermaphrodite flower (autogamy) or between two different flowers of the same plant (neighbour fertilisation = geitonogamy).
In most cultivated grapevines, self-fertilisation occurs within the hermaphrodite flower. In the case of purely female grape varieties, cross-fertilisation must be forced by hermaphroditic varieties planted in the vicinity or in a mixed set. In the case of new varieties, the mother variety is deliberately or intentionally cross-pollinated with the desired or selected partner, the father variety. See also under flowering, DNA and crossing.
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