Hybrid Fruits and Vegetables

There was a time when a particular fruit or vegetable was available only at a particular time at the grocery store. But if you go to a supermarket now, you will find not only seasonal fruits and vegetables but also some non seasonal ones.

Some of these fruits and vegetables might have been sourced from another location, but most often you will find that they have been cultivated in your local farm. These are known as hybrids.

Hybridized fruits and vegetables are developed by cross pollinating two or more similar cultivars within one species or closely related species of the same genus. The resulting fruit or vegetable has the nutritional profile of both the parent food.

Hybridization is nothing new, and it has been taking place naturally to make way for new species of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Intentional hybridization is done to increase the yield of crops, to better the nutritional profile of certain fruits and vegetables and to get rid of certain pesticides and pests.

If you recall eating those extra long French fries, then you must have wondered how the fast food joint manages to make them so long. This is all thanks to hybrid potatoes that are extra big. The drawback of hybrid fruits and vegetables is that they might look robust, but some of them lack the taste and flavor of the original.

Another drawback of hybrids is that if you plant the seeds from hybrid plants, it is not necessary that the resultant plant will be the same as the parent plant.

Lemato
Cross Between- Lemon and Tomato

Boysenberry
Cross Between- Blackberry, Loganberry and Raspberry

Limequat
Cross Between- Lime and Kumquat

Plumcot
Cross Between- Plums and Apricots

Grapefruit
Cross Between- Pomelo and Sweet Orange

Blood limes
Cross Between- Red finger lime and Ellendale Mandarin

Loganberry
Cross Between- Blackberry and Red Raspberry

Aprium
Cross Between- Plums and Apricots

Pomato
Cross Between- Potato and Tomato

Tangor
Cross Between- Mandarin Orange and Sweet Orange

Ugli
Cross Between- Grapefruit, Orange and Tangerine

Jostaberry
Cross Between- Blackcurrant and Gooseberry

Orangelo
Cross Between- Grapefruit and Orange

Grapple
Cross Between- Grapes and Apple

Fairchild Tangerine
Cross Between- Clementine Tangelos and Orlando Tangelos

Yuzu fruit
Cross Between- Mandarin and Papeda

Oroblanco
Cross Between- Pomelo and White Grapefruit

Pluot
Cross Between- Plums and Apricot

Ortanique
Cross Between- Sweet Orange and Tangerine

Rangpur
Cross Between- Mandarin Orange and Lemon

Tayberry
Cross Between- Blackberry and Raspberry

Nectacotum
Cross Between- Plum, Apricot and Nectarine

Broccoflower
Cross Between- Broccoli and Cauliflower

Rutabaga
Cross Between- Turnip and Wild Cabbage

Rabbage
Cross Between- Radish and Cabbage

Brokali
Cross Between- Broccoli and Kale

Broccolini
Cross Between- Broccoli and Kai-lan (Chinese Cabbage)

Besides these vegetables mentioned in the table, there are many other varieties of hybrid vegetables that are available in the market. Hybrid tomatoes are the most common and you can find tomato varieties in unusual colors like purple and deep green as well as stripped tomatoes.

Some vegetables like carrots and zucchinis are crossbred to increase their size, yield and for ease of growing them in containers. Many farms compete against each other to come up with newer varieties of hybrid vegetables that not only taste better, but produce a greater yield and are disease resistant too.

Unique shape and sizes of these hybridized vegetables are one of the main attractions for growing them among many farmers. Some more hybrid vegetables are Neon Glow Swiss Chard which are Swiss chards that have neon colored stems like yellow and magenta.

Another interesting hybrid is Marai White Sweet Corn that has pristine white corn kernels with 8 inch cobs. There are many hybrid citrus fruits also available like Clementine and Citrange that provide a tasty alternative to their parent species.

Hybrid vegetables and fruits are here to stay and although there are many people who are against hybridized produce, it is important to note that hybridized produce give a higher and consistent yield.

They have certain desirable qualities of both the parent fruits or vegetables and also superior disease resistance. If you are growing vegetables in your garden, then it is best that you grow hybrid as well as heirloom varieties.