The Italian pomologist Alberto Piròvano (1884-1973) was a professor at the research centre "Istituto di Frutticoltura ed Elettrogenetica di Roma" in Rome. He worked intensively on the subject of grapevine breeding, with a clear focus on table grapes. From 1912 onwards, he began experimentally irradiating the breeding plant material with X-rays and UV rays, as well as exposing them to magnetic fields, in order to bring about changes in the cell material and thus mutation. He can thus be described as an early manipulative genetic engineer. He published the breeding results under the title "La Mutazione Elettrica delle Specie Botaniche e la Disciplina dell'Ibridazione" (Genetic Modifications in Plants by Electrical Irradiation). He subsequently published around 50 dossiers on this subject. In 1923 Pirovano founded the "Research Institute for Fruit Trees".
His father Luigi Piròvano was also already active as a vine breeder. Around 150 of the new varieties bear the name Pirovano plus number, but most of them only served as breeding material. Piròvano was already making crosses at the age of 15. The Pirovano varieties served for commercial use, these included Agostenga Rosa (P. 14), Angelo Pirovano (P. 2), Aromatica (P. 393), Aurora (P. 100), Ciclopica (P. 60), Delizia di Vaprio (P. 46a), Formosa (P. 245), Golia (P. 137), Ignea (P. 185), Italia (P. 65), Latina (P. 711), Marengo (P. 205), Maria Pirovano (P. 165), Mendel (P. 532), Moscato d'Adda, Pardina (P. 130), Perlona (P. 54), Primus (P. 7), San Martino (P. 215), Servabilis (P. 221), Solferino (P. 316), Sultana Moscata (P. 75), Victor (P. 314) and Volta (P. 105). Pirovano 1 was a crossing partner for Schönburger, Pirovano 62 for the four new varieties Giovanna, Liana, Teresita and Viola created by Giovanni Dalmasso (1886-1974) in Conegliano (Veneto).
Pictures: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
