There was a time when a particular fruit or vegetable was available only at a particular time at the grocery store. But if you go to a supermarket now, you will find not only seasonal fruits and vegetables but also some non seasonal ones. Some of these fruits and vegetables might have been sourced from another location, but most often you will find that they have been cultivated in your local farm. These are known as hybrids. Hybridized fruits and vegetables are developed by cross pollinating two or more similar cultivars within one species or closely related species of the same genus. The resulting fruit or vegetable has the nutritional profile of both the parent food. Hybridization is nothing new, and it has been taking place naturally to make way for new species of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Intentional hybridization is done to increase the yield of crops, to better the nutritional profile of certain fruits and vegetables and to get rid of certain pesticides and pests. If you recall eating those extra long French fries, then you must have wondered how the fast food joint manages to make them so long. This is all thanks to hybrid potatoes that are extra big. The drawback of hybrid fruits and vegetables is that they might look robust, but some of them lack the taste and flavor of the original. Another drawback of hybrids is that if you plant the seeds from hybrid plants, it is not necessary that the resultant plant will be the same as the parent plant. Hybrid Fruits List

Hybrid Fruit	Cross Between
Lemato	Lemon and Tomato
Boysenberry	Blackberry, Loganberry and Raspberry
Limequat	Lime and Kumquat
Plumcot	Plums and Apricots
Grapefruit	Pomelo and Sweet Orange
Blood limes	Red finger lime and Ellendale Mandarin
Loganberry	Blackberry and Red Raspberry
Aprium	Plums and Apricots
Pomato	Potato and Tomato
Tangor	Mandarin Orange and Sweet Orange
Ugli	Grapefruit, Orange and Tangerine
Jostaberry	Blackcurrant and Gooseberry
Orangelo	Grapefruit and Orange
Grapple	Grapes and Apple
Fairchild Tangerine	Clementine Tangelos and Orlando Tangelos
Yuzu fruit	Mandarin and Papeda
Oroblanco	Pomelo and White Grapefruit
Pluot	Plums and Apricot
Ortanique	Sweet Orange and Tangerine
Rangpur	Mandarin Orange and Lemon
Tayberry	Blackberry and Raspberry
Nectacotum	Plum, Apricot and Nectarine

Hybrid Vegetables List

Hybrid Vegetable	Cross Between
Broccoflower	Broccoli and Cauliflower
Rutabaga	Turnip and Wild Cabbage
Rabbage	Radish and Cabbage
Brokali	Broccoli and Kale
Broccolini	Broccoli and Kai-lan (Chinese Cabbage)

Besides these vegetables mentioned in the table, there are many other varieties of hybrid vegetables that are available in the market. Hybrid tomatoes are the most common and you can find tomato varieties in unusual colors like purple and deep green as well as stripped tomatoes. Some vegetables like carrots and zucchinis are crossbred to increase their size, yield and for ease of growing them in containers. Many farms compete against each other to come up with newer varieties of hybrid vegetables that not only taste better, but produce a greater yield and are disease resistant too. Unique shape and sizes of these hybridized vegetables are one of the main attractions for growing them among many farmers. Some more hybrid vegetables are Neon Glow Swiss Chard which are Swiss chards that have neon colored stems like yellow and magenta. Another interesting hybrid is Marai White Sweet Corn that has pristine white corn kernels with 8 inch cobs. There are many hybrid citrus fruits also available like Clementine and Citrange that provide a tasty alternative to their parent species. Hybrid vegetables and fruits are here to stay and although there are many people who are against hybridized produce, it is important to note that hybridized produce give a higher and consistent yield. They have certain desirable qualities of both the parent fruits or vegetables and also superior disease resistance. If you are growing vegetables in your garden, then it is best that you grow hybrid as well as heirloom varieties.