Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In botany and horticulture, parthenocarpic literally means virgin fruit; the fruit develops without fertilization of ovules, therefore it is seedless. Parthenocarpy occasionally occurs as a mutation in nature, but it is a defect, as the plant can no longer reproduce. Humans, however, may see seedlessness as a desirable quality and have selected and artificially propagated parthenocarpic varieties of many plants, including citrus, bananas, cucumbers, and eggplant. In some areas lack of pollinators have induced humans cultivation of parthenocarpic varieties. Plants may also be moved from one area of the world and leave the pollinator partner behind. Some modern parthenocarpic varieties have been developed as Genetically modified organisms. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.