How Does Seedless Fruit Reproduce?

Published on Monday, August 20, 2007, by Jason Krause / Edit Post

Where does seedless fruit come from and how does it reproduce?

Most seedless fruit comes about the same way as other fruits, which commonly are grown from cuttings or grafts and not seeds. To make a cutting, a branch or vine is cut from a plant, fed a nutrient mixture, and put in dirt, where leaves and roots form. In a graft, the branch, vine, or bud is grown right into another plant’s trunk or rootstalk. With the exception of seedless watermelons, which have a complicated propagation method, seedless fruit can’t reproduce on its own—it must be grafted each time.

Seedless fruit originated from genetic mutations that humans discovered and cultivated. For example, seedless navel oranges date back to the 19th century and a single mutant tree in Brazil, whose progeny all come from buds grafted onto other citrus trees.

Scientists are working continually to produce new varieties of seedless fruit, either by breeding different varieties together or by stimulating genetic mutations. In recent years, they have created some seedless citrus crops by irradiating plant seeds, which causes mutations. Some of these mutations are fatal to the plant, some are benign; but sometimes these irradiated seeds produce a suitable seedless fruit, and the plants are propagated through budding.

Researchers may have to look at thousands of seedlings to find a plant that’s not only seedless but also attractive to farmers and consumers. David Ramming, a research horticulturalist with the USDA research center in Parlier, California, was involved recently in the introduction of two new species of grapes, the Sweet Scarlet and the Scarlet Royal. He says the goal is to create disease-resistant seedless fruit that tastes good and can be grown in different hemispheres. “We’ve got new varieties in the works all the time,” says Ramming. “We’re trying not just to have seedless fruit that tastes good, but to make it available to grocers all year round.”

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  • I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you would post an answer to a question that is so clearly incorrect. First, the practice of cutting has nothing to do with the propagation of seedless fruit, it is merely a cheaper, faster way of generating additional plants with the same features as another plant, rather than growing from seed.
    In particular, it has nothing to do with the specific example...+READ

    I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you would post an answer to a question that is so clearly incorrect. First, the practice of cutting has nothing to do with the propagation of seedless fruit, it is merely a cheaper, faster way of generating additional plants with the same features as another plant, rather than growing from seed.
    In particular, it has nothing to do with the specific example given here, which is the cultivation of seedless oranges. Seedless oranges are grown by crossing hybrids that contain specific "self-imcompatibility genes," which prevent them from forming seeds from dissimilar varieties of parents. Such plants, however, also often display a large degree of parthenocarpy, the tendency to form fruit without successful pollination. Seedless citrus farmers grow incompatible male and female varieties in adjacent rows to facilitate this. The female plants then form fruit, but the seeds never develop, since the pollen from the male variety is incompatible. It has nothing to do with 19th century Brazilian trees, radiation, or genetic mutation. It is a naturally occurring process.-COLLAPSE

  • greensoupbelly: You've obviously never seen pictures of bananas with seeds in them :-). I suspect they'd be virtually inedible.

    I wonder if it would be possible to make seedless guavas, and why this hasn't been done yet? It certainly would improve the eating experience!

  • when you irradiate plants or seeds you usually use an isotope of cobalt (cobalt-60, I believe) which emits gamma rays; these excite the material you expose to them thus mutating their DNA, but the actual radiation dissipates fairly rapidly. The seeds, or the plants grown from them, never become nuclear emitters, and the whole process is really a more accelerated form of natural genetic mutation...+READ

    when you irradiate plants or seeds you usually use an isotope of cobalt (cobalt-60, I believe) which emits gamma rays; these excite the material you expose to them thus mutating their DNA, but the actual radiation dissipates fairly rapidly. The seeds, or the plants grown from them, never become nuclear emitters, and the whole process is really a more accelerated form of natural genetic mutation (which is an essential component of the evolutionary process), which arises in part from background radiation from space.

    so, yeah, no need to panic, radiation is not some sort of supernatural force for evil...-COLLAPSE

  • this article is freaky...mutants WTF
    "In recent years, they have created some seedless citrus crops by irradiating plant seeds, which causes mutations. Some of these mutations are fatal to the plant, some are benign;"...what happens when humans eat them all the time?????

    "He says the goal is to create disease-resistant seedless fruit that tastes good and can be grown in different hemispheres....+READ

    this article is freaky...mutants WTF
    "In recent years, they have created some seedless citrus crops by irradiating plant seeds, which causes mutations. Some of these mutations are fatal to the plant, some are benign;"...what happens when humans eat them all the time?????

    "He says the goal is to create disease-resistant seedless fruit that tastes good and can be grown in different hemispheres. “We’ve got new varieties in the works all the time,” says Ramming. “We’re trying not just to have seedless fruit that tastes good, but to make it available to grocers all year round.”....
    Wierd!!!-COLLAPSE

  • After going through a week long hospital stay from Diverticulitis, I was told by my doctor to avoid seeds at all cost. I have really come to appreciate the fact that there are still many things I can enjoy that come in a seedless variety.

  • I think its not natural to eat plants or fruits without seeds, if they are origionally seed baring. Do we really need to eat food thats been irradiated, and what will that mean to our dna in the future? doesnt sound worth it just to avoid the act of removing or spitting out seed while eating.