Biting into a fresh Ontario peach is one of summer’s greatest delights. While Ontarians are blessed to live in an area with abundant fresh fruit and veggies, it can be easy to forget the work that goes into getting the food into the stores.
Being able to have peaches for longer stretches in the summertime is thanks to plant breeders who spend decades breeding fruit suited to thrive in different parts of the summer.
While breeding flowering plants is a centuries-old practice, in Canada there is only one peach breeder left: University of Guelph professor Jay Subramanian. He’s been researching peaches for 23 years and works in Ontario’s fruit belt, at the Vineland Research & Innovation Centre in Niagara.
