Parthenocarpy technology

Parthenocarpy is the production of fruits without fertilization. The resulting fruits are devoid of embryo and endosperm. Several edible fruits have been bred in the past to afford tasty fruits without seeds and naturally parthenocarpic fruits are found as well. Examples are pineapples, bananas, cucumbers, grapes, oranges and grapefruits.

Advantages of parthenocarpic fruits

• Novelty - (cherry, tomatoes, eggplant, pepper, strawberry, melon).

• Improved taste - (higher Total Soluble Sugar (TSS) levels).

• Greater reliability of crop yield under varying climatic conditions - (pollination is not required)

• Cost reductions of greenhouse grown fruits - (pollination is not required, less (cold) temperature sensitive).

• Increased profitability for the fruit processing industry

Creation of seedless fruit varieties

Parthenocarpic tomato. Cut tomato from pollinated
(right) and nonpollinated (left) flowers.Seedless fruit varieties are the result of several approaches. In addition to breeding processes with naturally seedless varieties, synthetic growth substances are applied in paste form, as injections or by spraying.
These practices account for a high percentage of the production costs and cause major concerns with respect to product safety and environmental pollution.
Seedlessness is also achievable by genetic engineering, namely through overproduction of hormones necessary for fruit development.

Parthenocarpic eggplants.
(A) Berries from pollinated (bottom) and
nonpollinated (top) flowers.
(B) Cut fruits from pollinated (bottom) and
nonpollinated (top) flowers.
For sufficient fruit development in most plants, pollination and subsequent seed production are required. Seeds in developing fruit trigger the synthesis of auxins and cytokinins, plant hormones that promote cell division and expansion. Environmental condition prohibitive for pollination, result in insufficient fruit setting and subsequently in bad harvest. Thus genetic modification of the crop to reduce its dependency on pollination for fruit development could reduce the constraints of weather, insect pollinators, and growing season. Both seedlessness and high solids are valuable traits for e.g. eggplant breeders or the tomato processing industry. Processors routinely remove the seeds and reduce the water content of tomatoes before cooking up ketchup or pasta sauce, a laborious process. Genetically engineered tomatoes and eggplants are pollination independent, show less browning of the fruit flesh upon cutting and harbour an inferior bitter taste (eggplants) due to lower seed amounts.