Chums And Plerries

from Western Fruit Grower - October 2000 By David Eddy, Western Editor (links & emphasis by DWN)


The father of the Pluot® and the Aprium® has no doubt that new fruits - not just new varieties, but new species - will be coming to an orchard near you.

"I’ve got people coming in all the time, wanting to know what's on the horizon," Floyd Zaiger was saying from his desk at Zaiger's Genetics in Modesto, CA. "We haven't even gotten there yet."

But Zaiger, the man who came up with the Pluot® and the Aprium®, says it all comes down to improving quality. For too long the focus has been on appearance rather than taste. "When the customers take one bite out of a piece of fruit and put it back on the counter or in their lunchbox," he trails off. Contrast that with the 74-year-old fruit breeder's grandson. "He would come home and look for a Pluot® before a cookie," he says. "That's what we should be shooting for."

 

A Matter Of Taste

Many growers agree. "It used to be bigger, redder, firmer," Zaiger says.

"Now it's flavor, flavor, flavor." At the same time, the new varieties must be "farmer-friendly." "Consumer friendly is Number One," he says, "but they still must be farmer-friendly."

Lack of taste and marketing are real problems for growers, says Zaiger. He thinks that the answer to both lies in new, high-Brix (more info: 1, 2, 3 ) species and varieties. Good-tasting fruit that's new is easier to sell. He cites an anecdote about how memorable new fruits can be. "I met a gal in Alaska from Georgia who had tried a Pluot® in Singapore and loved it," he says with a grin.

Pluots® are a good example, says Zaiger. He’s got one yellow-fleshed variety that's hard as a rock, but when you bite into it, the sweet flavor explodes in your mouth. Zaiger plans on calling it the Flavor Grenade.

Plumarine, Anyone?

What's next? Another plum cross, Nectaplums, should be available in 5 to 10 years. Further down the line is a cross between a cherry and a plum that looks promising. But it takes about 20 years to fully develop a new commercial species, notes Zaiger.

At Zaiger's Genetics, of the 50,000 trees planted per year, only 300 to 400 remain after three years, and even fewer after 10 years. The final trees get six years to see if they are commercial grade. "It isn't a get-rich-quick deal," Zaiger says, smiling. "You have to have an understanding wife that will let you go off on a 20-year project with no income."