plant breeding : NPR

The Perfect Summer Peach Wasn't Always So Rosy

A species of peach related to the 7,500-year-old pits found in China recently (left), and today's more modern versions (right). Courtesy of Jose Chaparro/University of Florida hide caption

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Courtesy of Jose Chaparro/University of Florida

The Salt

The Perfect Summer Peach Wasn't Always So Rosy

September 15, 2014 • The peaches we eat today look very little like the first peaches planted. We can thank the Chinese farmers who first domesticated the fruit for kicking off millennia of breeding for perfection.

Big Bucks From Strawberry Genes Lead To Conflict At UC Davis

Trays of albion strawberries are on display at the Bob Jones Ranch fruit stand on Aug. 25, 2012 in Oxnard, Calif. Ralph Lauer/ZUMA Press/Corbis hide caption

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Ralph Lauer/ZUMA Press/Corbis

The Salt

Big Bucks From Strawberry Genes Lead To Conflict At UC Davis

July 2, 2014 • The strawberry breeding program at the University of California, Davis, is a big money-earner. It's created a unique hybrid of the public and private breeding sector, and that's led to conflict.

Sweet. Tart. Crunchy: How To Engineer A Better Apple

The just-released Riverbelle is one of well over 100 new apple varieties to hit markets around the world in the past six years. Courtesy of Honeybear Brands hide caption

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Courtesy of Honeybear Brands

The Salt

Sweet. Tart. Crunchy: How To Engineer A Better Apple

October 9, 2013 • Over the past six years, an estimated 130 new apple varieties have hit markets around the globe. And behind every crisp, tasty bite, there's a world of plant breeding — and decades of painful trial and error.

The Cotton Candy Grape: A Sweet Spin On Designer Fruit

The Cotton Candy grape looks and smells like a regular green grape. But the taste will evoke memories of the circus. Courtesy of Spencer Gray hide caption

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Courtesy of Spencer Gray

The Salt

The Cotton Candy Grape: A Sweet Spin On Designer Fruit

August 6, 2013 • Grapes that taste like cotton candy? No, it's not a GMO experiment but rather the result of good old-fashioned plant-breeding techniques. One scientist has already brought these sweet treats to the market and hopes our grape choices will one day be as varied as our apple choices.

How The Taste Of Tomatoes Went Bad (And Kept On Going)

Notice how some of these tomatoes have unripe-looking tops? Those "green shoulders" are actually the keys to flavor. pocius/Flickr.com hide caption

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pocius/Flickr.com

The Salt

How The Taste Of Tomatoes Went Bad (And Kept On Going)

June 28, 2012 • Scientists have discovered that the gene that makes tomatoes uniformly ripe and red also makes them less tasty. But it's going to take consumer education and a willingness to pay more before the industry makes a change.

How The Taste Of Tomatoes Went Bad (And Kept On Going)

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