The Fruit Hunters: Interesting Documentary

[mira]

This documentary based on the 2008 book by the same name is about people obsessed with collecting, preserving, and crossing rare fruit species and varieties. It's almost if one traded a Trichocereus or medical plant obsession strictly for tropical fruit. It's pretty fascinating really.

The story features among others two mango conservators from the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden hunting down a white fleshed mango and maintaining their 600+ variety mango collection and a Hondouran scientist with a very involved (1 seed in 1000 banana clusters!) Cavendish banana breeding program.

It's on youtube now:

Part 1 - The Evolution of Desire [44:33]

Part 2 - Defenders of Diversity [44:33]

Edited March 24, 2013 by mira

[sethomopod]

Thank you very much for this..

600+ mango varieties! I need to speak with these people!

[naja naja]

if ur into fruit doco's, be sure to check out the doco about the apple forrest of kazakstan.

[planthelper]

1 banana seed in 1000 clusters is a lot, they only get as many seeds because they breed for seeds.

a chance seed found in a Cavendish, would be worth a lot of money, but it never happens to us consumers...