This series of tables provides a partial answer to the
question, "How natural is modern, cultivated fruit?"
by comparing it to wild/
Plant Breeding & Propagation
|
Wild / Natural Fruit |
Modern / Cultivated Fruit |
| Evolutionary varietal selection driven by species survival. | Human-directed varietal selection for taste (high sugar content: market acceptance) and production factors such as ability to withstand shipping. |
| Usually non-hybrid; on occasion natural hybrid. | Artificial hybrids common; genetic engineering is latest fashion. |
| Propagation usually by seeds (not necessarily true to seed), or natural vegetative propagation/ |
Vegetative propagation, usually artificial: grafting, budding, air-layer, cloning. |
| Grows on its own roots. | Usually grafted to an alternate rootstock. |
Plant Culture
|
Wild / Natural Fruit |
Modern / Cultivated Fruit |
| Grown in natural "permaculture." | Mass-produced in orchards, a type of "monoculture." |
| Generally watered by rainfall only, according to natural seasonal cycle. | Often grown on irrigated land (desert areas like California), or drained swampland (e.g., Florida). |
| Grows within specific climatic zone, per natural adaptation/ |
May be grown in greenhouse, or artificial plant breeding techniques may be used to extend plant climate tolerance range (i.e., increase cold/heat resistance). |
| Plants grow to full size, subject to local conditions. | Plants may be artificially dwarfed for ease in picking and other conveniences. |
| Plants are pollinated by natural means: native insects, wind, birds, bats. | Pollination services which use the honeybee (not native to North America) are often used. Some fruits are hand-pollinated (cherimoya), while Smyrna-type figs are pollinated by Caprifig wasps deliberately raised for that use. Seedless watermelons are a hybrid and require cross-pollination by other varieties of watermelon. |
| Plants bloom and fruit according to natural conditions and seasons. Some fruits are biennial--heavy crop one year, light crop the next. | Blooming and fruiting may be induced or controlled by chemical or physical means, including partial girdling of large branches. Some growers go to great lengths (harming the plants) to force a biennial fruit to bear heavily each year. |
| No chemical fertilizers. | May receive chemical fertilizers. |
| No pesticides, fungicides or other poisons applied. | May receive applications of pesticides, fungicides, etc.--even if so-called organic. |
Fruit Characteristics / Quality
|
Wild / Natural Fruit |
Modern / Cultivated Fruit |
| Small, high in fiber, often sour, bitter, or even astringent; rarely sweet; usually low sugar level. | Large, low in fiber, usually very sweet with a very high sugar level. |
| Typically, large seeds with small amount of fruit flesh. | Typically, small or no seeds, large amount of fruit flesh. Seedless fruits, in a species that normally reproduces by seeds, are a short-lived anomaly--they are biologically sterile. |
Harvest, Post-Harvest Processing, and Shipping
|
Wild / Natural Fruit |
Modern / Cultivated Fruit |
| Falls to ground or picked when ripe or mature green. | Usually picked unripe or before mature green stage. Ripe/ |
| Never fumigated. | May be fumigated to induce ripening, to kill fruitfly larvae, or to prevent post-harvest fungus growth. |
| Not treated with hot water, no cold treatment. | May be treated with hot water to kill fruitfly larvae or fungus, cold treatments possible--same reasons. |
| Not refrigerated, not shipped. | May be refrigerated for weeks or even months (cold- |
| Never waxed, colored, or treated with preservative films. | May be waxed, colored, treated with preservative films. |
Plant Survival and Reproduction
|
Wild / Natural Fruit |
Modern / Cultivated Fruit |
| By definition, survives and reproduces in real nature--the wild (survival of the fittest). | Most cultivated fruit strains can survive only under human protection. Cultivated fruit generally cannot survive/ |
Availability to Consumer
|
Wild / Natural Fruit |
Modern / Cultivated Fruit |
| First you find the plant, then you harvest it. Picking wild fruit may necessitate dealing with any of the following: sharp thorns, caustic plant sap, poisonous plants, stinging and/or biting insects, snakes, skunks, and other animals. Considerable effort usually required to obtain. Wild fruit is sometimes sold at markets in tropical countries. | Easily and readily available at supermarkets, produce markets, and even at convenience stores. Little effort is required to obtain. |
