Boizeau, you may be the person who can explain to me why the breading of grapes hasn’t stepped into the ‘future,’ as was described by a program I watched around ten years ago. It described the prior (and current) ‘hit & miss’ process of cross-breeding grapes, basically used to improve all fruit. It went on to show the lab work of gene splicing and genetic manipulation that would soon bring us “Grapes as big as golf balls” ...and said in short time the tedious process would be far less expensive and “Revolutionize” fruit growing.

As I mainly watch PBS, it wasn’t some attention grabbing commercial blurb, but a well described process which of course by now I've forgotten. I was left with the idea that soon we’d be replacing our vines with amazing new varieties, and even doubted if I should plant several of my newest… while awaiting those new cultivars ...glad I didn’t

Have you any insight regarding such laboratory breeding programs or research; like where’s it at, why all the hype, and are there really other ways of breeding grapes beyond the method you (and everyone for eons) have used?

Size was only my example … the report sounded as if they could manipulate flavor, color, disease resistance and seed content. The examples shown were tissue cultures and expected to ‘revolutionize’ the fruit industry…

I realize the UK and most of the EU have taken a hard stance against genetically modified foods, and I can understand their fear of inserted ‘animal genes’ or herbicide resistance, but the description I vaguely remember seemed ‘only’ to be shifting desirable characteristics from various cultivars into one. In their example, a grape plant, something that could take centuries of ‘old fashioned’ breeding.

…now if they can come up with a grape plant that deters birds I'd consider some major replacements. If it were only size, I agree, bloated fruit are generally less than impressive insipid imitations of the original.

Thanks for you thoughts. My question was why the advanced manipulation, advertised a good decade ago, seems to have born so little fruit? Is that due to an ‘ethical’ halt, logistical problems, or were the proclamations merely hype?

Whatever the snag, it’s nice to know someone’s still doing it ‘natures way.’ …if human intervention may be considered, “natural.”

As for the link… he included quite a spectrum of opinion, losing me – then pulling me back... I realize, with his example of species migration, the most obvious non-native plant invasions flourish on human-disturbed sites … though it’s extremely difficult for me to view Scotch Broom, Canadian thistles, European stinging nettles or Himalayan Blackberries as a naturally occurring positive migration. But, I stopped far short of the entire essay.