Genes that control factors such as size£¬ color and shape determine the differences in fruit£¬ says Zhang Kaichun of the Beijing Forestry and Fruit Plants Research Institute £¬ according to the latest Beijing Review.

And now that scientists have discovered how to detect different genes£¬ farmers can hand over a twig to have its genes checked prior to planting. It works the same as a detective checking fingerprints. Once farmers know which trees are good and which are bad£¬ they can discard the bad ones. Farmers can even breed new varieties in accordance with their individual tastes.

In the past three years £¬ tens of thousands of tests were carried out to determine the genetic features of fruit. Zhang showed a photo of a DNA-test and pointed to the shining lines on it £¬ saying that the lines were genetic signs that tell us what a tree ¡®s fruit will be like. For example £¬ the ordinary pear tree bears fruit after four years. But now it only takes a month to test the DNA from a tender leaf and a farmer will know everything about its fruit. By creating hybrids from trees with suitable genes£¬ farmers can create whatever fruit trees they want.