Do you love biting into a fat, juicy plum? Do you search for plump varieties to feast on? Do you find their sweet-and-sour taste irresistible? Well, we may have just found out about the plum of your dreams! Two South African farmers recently set an interesting world record. Dean and Deon Barnard grew the world's heaviest plum, said to be the size of a softball. Their plum weighs a stunning 464.15 g (16.3 oz), which is 109.78 g (3.8 oz) heavier than the previous record holder, Guinness World Records (GWR) stated. The plum initially weighed 480 grams after harvesting but lost some moisture (and grams) over time. The previous holder was grown in Japan in 2021 and was of the Kiyo variety. The plum that broke the world record is of the Autumn Treat variety, which has been described "as crisp and sweet tasting".
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Photo Credit: guinnessworldrecords.com
The Barnards grew the enormous fruit at their own farm, which also comprises seven hectares of commercial plum orchards. However, the duo say that they had not grown the plum specifically to break a record. Dean told GWR, "It hasn't been bred to set records. The record plum came off a commercial tree with about 150 plums on it. I didn't do any special preparations to get it this big." Additionally, GWR revealed that the Barnards found other record-breaking plums, weighing between 400-450 grams, in this year's harvest.
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The fruit takes around seven months to grow and the flowering begins in the month of September. "Our area has a lot of very unique microclimates and that helps the plums a lot...I also have a top plum specialist to help us with production and quality. I'm so proud and excited. It's really a big privilege to have the record and I'm so blessed by God," Dean told GWR.
Before this, a record-breaking onion weighing more than a bowling bowl made headlines. Click here to read the full story.