What is a Pluot®?
A Pluot® (pronounced ploo-awt)
is what is referred to as a hybrid fruit. Most of us are familiar with what a
hybrid vehicle is, right? A hybrid vehicle is a cross between a tradition
gasoline or petroleum-fueled vehicle, and one that gets its power from an
alternative source of energy such as electricity. The result? A vehicle that has
the best of both worlds! We can think of hybrid fruits in a similar way. A
hybrid fruit is one that possesses excellent traits of both the parent plants
to result in a plant with superior vigor, taste, and desirable growing
characteristics for a particular region. Any guesses of what a Pluot® may be a
cross of? A plum and apricot; hence the name!
A Pluot® is the result of cross-pollination and is
composed of approximately 75% plum characteristics and 25% apricot
characteristics. They have a smooth skin like plums, their sugar content is
often much higher than that of a plum or apricot alone, and can range in color
from purple to yellow and green with red polka-dots. We can thank Mr. Floyd
Zaiger, a Modesto, California plant breeder for hybrid fruits such as the
Pluot®, as well as the Aprium®, Nectaplum®, and Peacotum®! (Click here to learn more about
these and more fun fruits developed by Zaiger’s Genetics!)
The Man Who Developed The Pluot®
Mr.
Zaiger has been said to be the most prolific plant breeder in the modern age,
and has patented more than 200 new varieties of fruit through conventional
pollination. Though the process of creating new fruit cultivars is lengthy and
laborious (we're talking decades of work and approximately 1 out of 10,000
successful crosses!) it has been a true labor of love for the Zaiger family.
Zaigers Genetics is a family-run business. Floyd and his three children Leith,
Gary, and Grant run the company, and now even the third generation is getting
involved. You can learn more about the Zaiger Family and Floyds extraordinary
work here.
An
interesting fact about the Pluot® is that unlike most other fruits, it is a
federally registered trademark. In the United States, Dave Wilson Nursery is the primary propagator and licensor of varieties
developed by Zaiger's Genetics. For any of our readers who are home gardeners Dave Wilson Nursery sells trees to nurseries all over the state. You
can actually search by region and contact the nurseries directly to purchase
your very own Pluot® trees! To read where you can buy your very own Pluot®
trees, click here! 3 Fun Facts About Pluots®
1.
The
Pluot® was invented in Modesto, California only about 10 miles away from
Bella Viva Orchards!
2.
There
are many other fruit hybrids available in the marketplace, such as the Aprium®
(more apricot than plum), Nectaplum® (nectarine and plum), and Peacotum®
(peach, apricot, and plum). Both the Pluot® and the Aprium® are considered to
fall under the umbrella term plumcot, which is a more broad term for
plum-apricot hybrids.
3. Plum-apricot
hybrids such as the Pluot® have many of the same nutritional benefits as their
parents, apricots and plums; such as fiber and vitamin C.
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