Editing Grape (section)

== Seedless grapes ==
Seedless cultivars now make up the overwhelming majority of table grape plantings. Because grapevines are [[Vegetative reproduction|vegetatively propagated]] by cuttings, the lack of seeds does not present a problem for reproduction. It is an issue for breeders, who must either use a seeded variety as the female parent or rescue embryos early in development using [[Plant tissue culture|tissue culture]] techniques.

There are several sources of the seedlessness trait, and essentially all commercial cultivators get it from one of three sources: [[Thompson Seedless]], Russian Seedless, and Black Monukka, all being cultivars of ''[[Vitis vinifera]]''.{{cn|date=April 2025}} There are currently more than a dozen varieties of seedless grapes. Several, such as Einset Seedless, Benjamin Gunnels's Prime seedless grapes, Reliance, and Venus, have been specifically cultivated for hardiness and quality in the relatively cold climates of northeastern United States and southern [[Ontario]].<ref>Reisch BI, Peterson DV, Martens M-H. [http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/reisch/bulletin/table/tabletext3.html "Seedless Grapes"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619010322/http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/reisch/bulletin/table/tabletext3.html |date=2008-06-19 }}, in "Table Grape Varieties for Cool Climates", Information Bulletin 234, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, retrieved December 30, 2008.</ref>

An offset to the improved eating quality of seedlessness is the loss of potential health benefits provided by the enriched [[phytochemical]] content of grape seeds (see [[#Health claims|Health claims]], below).<ref>{{Cite journal
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