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Israel: Hybrid fruits are resistant to intensifying weather

‘Plumegranates’, ‘aromacots’ and ‘blackots’ are just some of the weird and wonderful fruits being grown by Ben Dor Nurseries, an Israeli farm. The firm crossbreeds fruits to develop cultivars with more desirable properties, like better taste, better yields and a higher sugar content.

However, the best part is that many of these hybrid fruits are resistant to climate change. The Eden pear, for example, is resistant to sunburns, heat stress, and Fire Blight, a contagious disease that causes annual economic losses of over $100 million in the US alone.

The nursery has been around since the late 1800s, but has recently turned its focus to developing strange and interesting fruit that are resistant to intensifying weather conditions. Its cross-breeding program has been around for 40 years, but the family-run business only started to really develop it during the pandemic, as exports dropped off.

“We started with flavor, which is our advantage compared with other breeding programs,” said Ben Dor. “Flavor is what brings the buyer back to the supermarket, to look for that specific product again.”

The nursery’s offerings include the plumegranate, which has dark red flesh, like a pomegranate – but with an antioxidant content that is three times higher.  It also cultivates the watermelon plum, which has green skin and deep red flesh, and the Eden pear. Both unique varieties are juicier, sweeter and more crunchy compared to their conventional counterparts.

Source: nocamels.com

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