Fruits of Labour | A look at how some of the most popular fruits and vegetable have evolved over the centuries

Agriculture may be termed as a fairly recent invention – only about 10,000 years old. Since it began, farmers have artificially bred crops to select for more desirable traits, like colour, size, and taste. In hot pursuit of these traits, some of our favourite fruits and vegetables have changed drastically over the centuries. Many of the fruits and vegetables we consume didn’t look like their current version originally. A look at some of the most popular greens and how they have evolved over the centuries. (Image: News18 Creative)

Watermelon | -3000 BC | Evidence of cultivation in Darfur, Sudan (in a 4,450-year-old Egyptian tomb painting). Also found in Nambia, Nile Valley Botswana. (Image: News18 Creative)

Peaches | -6000 BC | Earliest evidence of domestication in Zhejiang Province of China. (Image: News18 Creative)

Corn | 8000 BC | First domesticated by natives of Mexico. Generations of selective breeding transformed wild teosinte grass into a rich source of food. (Image: News18 Creative)