Elmer Swenson (12 December 1913 – 24 December 2004) was an American 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 2,765 at the 2020 census. Located mostly within the Town of Osceola, the village sits on the border with Minnesota, separated by the St. Croix River. It is ...

which he had inherited from his maternal grandfather Larson, an immigrant from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. 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 Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, 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 ''Leontopodium nivale'', commonly called edelweiss () ( ; or ), is a mountain flower belonging to the daisy or sunflower family Asteraceae. The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about altitude. It is a non-toxic plant. Its leaves and f ...

' and ' Swenson Red', were joint releases with the University of Minnesota, but further cultivars 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 * St. Theresa * St. Pepin *

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

* Espirit *

Kay Gray Kay Gray was developed by the Wisconsin grape breeder Elmer Swenson c. 1980 and is named after a family friend. It is a seedling of Swenson's own ES 217 (a cross of Minnesota 78 and Golden Muscat). Swenson collected open-pollinated seeds from this ...

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

Minnesota 78 Minnesota 78 is a variety 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 upper Midwest ...

Others: * Kandiyohi * Sabrevois * Norway Red *

Alpenglow Alpenglow (from ; ) 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 Strictly speaking, alpenglow refers to indirect sunlight r ...

Petit Jewel Petit is a French-language surname literally meaning "small" or "little". Notable people with the surname include: *Adriana Petit (born 1984), Spanish multidisciplinary artist *Alexis Thérèse Petit (1791–1820), French physicist *Amandine Peti ...

* Prairie Star *

Louise Swenson Louise most commonly refers to: * Louise (given name) Louise or Luise may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Songs * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 * "Louise", by The Yardbirds from the album '' Five Live Yardbirds'', 1964 * "Louis ...

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; or , or ; also found as ''Loreleï'', ''Lore Lay'', ''Lore-Ley'', ''Lurley'', ''Lurelei'' and ''Lurlei'' throughout history) is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at ...

*Trollhaugen * Swenson White * Summersweet *

Brianna Brianna, Breanna, Briana, 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 a relatively modern one and was occasionally us ...

* Delisle * Montreal Blue (aka 'St. Theresa' and 'Flambeau') * Aldemina *

Somerset Seedless Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to ...

* 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