Calories in Grapes, green, seedless

What makes grapes so powerful?

The seedless nature of green grapes traces back to a natural genetic mutation affecting the production of gibberellins, which are plant hormones crucial for normal seed development. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, farmers discovered a mutant vine producing fruit without mature seeds. Because these grapes lack viable seeds, they cannot be propagated traditionally; instead, they are cloned through cuttings grafted onto rootstocks. The Thompson Seedless variety, originating from a vine grown by William Thompson in California during the late 1800s, became the foundation for most modern green seedless table grapes worldwide. Without seeds to draw energy away from the flesh, these grapes often develop higher sugar concentrations, resulting in their distinctly crisp, sweet profile. The mutation also causes the stems to be slightly more fragile, which is why commercial harvesting relies heavily on careful handling to prevent the bunches from shattering. Today, growers often apply additional gibberellins to elongate the berries and increase their size.