The grape is of European origin and has a history that dates to prehistoric times. Botanists contend that the grape originate in the Caspian Sea area, and the elements carried grape seeds to the Asian shore. However, the European grape today is cultivated in warm regions around the world. New and different varieties and strains of grapes are being cultivated all the time. One of these, the black seedless grape, has recently been cultivated by horticulture researchers in Fresno, California. The new black seedless grape does not have an official name as of yet, but it was developed as an alternative to the Ribier black grape, which is a popular black grape but contains seeds, “The sweet, firm fruit will give shoppers an alternative to Ribier black grapes, which ripen about the same time, but contain seeds. Now known only as B74-99, the new grape is the latest from Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) breeding team at, Fresno, California” (U.S. ARS 1). ARS is the main research body of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Like many foods in our modern diet, the black seedless grape was developed to give consumers and alternative to grapes that contain seeds. Many modern foods have been developed because they offer convenience to consumers, and the B74-99 black grape is no different. Seeds are not only unpleasant to the taste if they are accidentally chewed with the grape, but they also require a place of disposal and the act of spitting out the seeds. For this reason, many consumers prefer seedless varieties of this ancient fruit, even though seedless grapes cost more than their seeded counterparts. Sometimes grapes are developed by a technological process known as embryo rescue, but the B74-99 as well as other new varieties of grapes were cultivated the in the conventional manner, “B74-99 grapes were produced through conventional breeding, using pollen from one parent grapevine to fertilize the flowers of another”...