How are seedless grapes grown

A.� Given that seeds are the basis for propagation where seedless grapes come from appears to be quite puzzling. However most fruits, apart from citrus fruits are no longer grown from seeds anymore, instead they're grown from cuttings.

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A piece of vine or branch is cut off, dipped in rooting hormone and then planted in damp soil where the roots, leaves and fruit develop.

Basically the fruit is a clone of the original plant.

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Q.� Sometimes seedless grapes have small dots of different coloured flesh inside, what are they

A.� Seedless grapes actually do begin to develop seeds, but because of a genetic mutation the seeds don't form hard outer coats to produce the pips found in the seeded variety. These dark patches are what's left of the unformed seed.

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Q.� Like the dark patches inside bananas

A.� Yes, bananas don't produce functioning seeds because they are triploid fruit: they have three sets of chromosomes, rather than two. This chromosomal imbalance prevents successful fertilisation and the so the production of seeds.

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Q.� How long have grapes been cultivated for

A.� Since at least 6000 BC.

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Q.� In Italy

A.� No, the grape started out in the Black Sea region. It didn't make it to the Mediterranean until around 2000 BC.

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Q.� When the Italians started making wine

A.� No again, although many early civilisations refer to wine making, the Greeks were the first to start doing it seriously. They even had a god of the vine, Dionysus, later Bacchus, who oversaw the cultivation of vineyards and the merriment of drinking.

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When did the Italians start making wine

Not until around 1500BC when Greek colonists introduced vineyards to Italy.

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Do you want to know how something grows Click here to ask.

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by Lisa Cardy