WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're taking 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:05.419 a really close look at a fruit you probably just 00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:09.199 grab, you know, in the summer. The peach. It's 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:13.419 fuzzy, juicy, definitely messy sometimes. But, 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:15.300 well, underneath that simple skin, there's this 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.320 incredible history. It goes back millions of 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:21.300 years. Yeah, and some surprising sort of geopolitical 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:23.730 stuff, too. And genetics that most people get 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:26.309 wrong. Exactly. Our sources today, they're just 00:00:26.309 --> 00:00:29.530 packed with insights into Prunus persica. We're 00:00:29.530 --> 00:00:32.170 talking its journey from like a Neolithic food 00:00:32.170 --> 00:00:34.710 in China. Right. All the way through being used 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:37.270 in scorched earth campaigns in North America, 00:00:37.390 --> 00:00:40.009 which is quite a story. Yeah. And right up to 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:43.009 modern gene sequencing. So our mission today 00:00:43.009 --> 00:00:45.189 is to kind of synthesize all that. You should 00:00:45.189 --> 00:00:47.469 leave this deep dive feeling, well, pretty fluent 00:00:47.469 --> 00:00:50.840 in peach. Absolutely. Fluid and peach, I like 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:52.759 that. And just before we really dive in, let's 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:54.560 get a sense of the scale here. I mean, you think 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:56.840 apples are big in temperate fruit. They are, 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:00.219 number one. And pears are number two. But peaches, 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:03.560 and importantly, nectarines too, they're right 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.180 there at number three globally. It's a huge industry. 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:10.400 We're talking 27 .1 million tons produced globally 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:15.140 just last year in 2023. But here's the big shocker 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:17.099 from the sources, geopolitically speaking. Yeah. 00:01:17.709 --> 00:01:21.069 One single country dominates production so completely. 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:23.230 It almost skews the whole picture. And that country 00:01:23.230 --> 00:01:25.489 is China. It produces, what, something like 65 00:01:25.489 --> 00:01:27.969 % of the world's entire peach and nectarine supply? 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:32.150 65%. Yes. So massive. An unprecedented concentration. 00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:34.849 Wow. And to put that in perspective. Well, the 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:37.530 next biggest producer is Spain. And they only 00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:41.569 manage about 5 % of the global total. So 65 versus 00:01:41.569 --> 00:01:43.790 5. That's not just market dominance. That's... 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:46.359 Something else entirely. It really sets the stage, 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:48.599 doesn't it? It really does. It underpins so much 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:50.640 of the story. Okay, let's unpack this then and 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:52.060 maybe start with what you mentioned earlier, 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:54.459 the biggest misconception. The thing that surprises 00:01:54.459 --> 00:01:56.420 even, you know, people who know their fruit. 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:00.040 Ah, yes. That peaches and nectarines, commercially, 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:02.640 we see them as distinct, right? Totally different 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.359 things in the supermarket aisle. But botanically, 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:08.719 they're exactly the same species. No hybrid, 00:02:08.939 --> 00:02:11.889 no crossing with plums, none of that. Mind blown 00:02:11.889 --> 00:02:14.250 already. OK, so how do we understand that? We 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:16.349 need the botanical basics first, I guess. Right. 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:18.569 And the confusion starts right with the scientific 00:02:18.569 --> 00:02:23.030 name. Prunus persica. Persica, meaning of Persia, 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:25.909 so modern day Iran, which you're telling me is 00:02:25.909 --> 00:02:28.430 completely wrong. Why stick with that? Well, 00:02:28.569 --> 00:02:30.830 it's one of those classic botanical misnomers, 00:02:30.849 --> 00:02:34.129 really. Frozen in time. When Europeans first 00:02:34.129 --> 00:02:36.810 classified it formally, they traced its cultivation 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:39.969 back through Roman times to Persia. where it 00:02:39.969 --> 00:02:42.770 was widely grown. They just didn't have the tools 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:45.830 back then, genetics or archaeology, to see the 00:02:45.830 --> 00:02:48.969 deeper origins in China. So persica became, and 00:02:48.969 --> 00:02:52.250 persica, it stayed. Misleading, but there you 00:02:52.250 --> 00:02:54.330 have it. But taxonomically, it's definitely in 00:02:54.330 --> 00:02:56.310 the right place in the prunus genus. Oh, absolutely. 00:02:56.430 --> 00:02:59.210 Prunus is this huge, really important group. 00:02:59.289 --> 00:03:01.550 It includes cherries, apricots, almonds, plums. 00:03:02.219 --> 00:03:04.319 All those stone fruits. And prunus itself is 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.719 part of the rosaceae family, the rose family. 00:03:06.819 --> 00:03:08.560 That's it. So, yeah, when you bite into a peach, 00:03:08.759 --> 00:03:11.379 you're eating a distant, distant cousin of a 00:03:11.379 --> 00:03:14.800 rose. And we call them droops or stone fruits. 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:17.120 That's because of the hard pit inside protecting 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:20.840 the seed. Exactly. That's stony endocarp. Now, 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:23.960 the tree itself, it's actually considered quite 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:26.460 a handsome tree. Often planted just for the blossoms 00:03:26.460 --> 00:03:29.520 in spring. Right. But, and this is key, it's 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.879 relatively short -lived compared to an oak or 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.259 even an apple tree. Commercially, you're looking 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:37.639 at under 20 years of good production usually, 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:40.340 though they can get tall, maybe 10 meters, if 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:42.139 you just let them go. That short lifespan is 00:03:42.139 --> 00:03:43.900 interesting. Does that mean it puts all its energy 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:46.900 into fruiting fast? Pretty much, yeah. It's a 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.159 high -yield, short -cycle strategy for the plant. 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:51.659 And another thing, they're quite neat growers. 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:54.500 The sources point out they don't typically produce 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:57.000 suckers, those shoots from the base. Oh, those 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.759 are annoying on other trees. Exactly. And no 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.439 thorns. But underground, they're surprisingly 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:04.919 tough. The root system is deep and it keeps growing 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:06.939 through the winter, even when the top looks dormant. 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:09.699 Getting ready for that spring burst. Okay, so 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:11.900 above ground, what are the key features? Bark, 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:15.520 leaves. Bark is dark gray, usually has these 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:17.560 horizontal lenticels, you know, little pores 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:20.040 for gas exchange. Yeah. Gets rougher with age. 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:22.680 The leaves are pretty distinctive. Oblong to 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.759 lanceolate, quite big, 7 to 15 centimeters. Right. 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:28.959 And often they have this fold along the middle 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.740 rib, serrated edges, and little glands sometimes 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:34.300 on the edges can be reddish. And then the flowers, 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:37.100 which are beautiful and so fertile, you said. 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:39.120 That's handy for gardeners. Very handy. Yeah. 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:41.040 It means you usually only need one tree to get 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.319 fruit, and they bloom early. Cool. That's crucial. 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:46.420 Northern hemisphere, could be February, March. 00:04:47.379 --> 00:04:48.980 Definitely before the leaves come out. Which 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:51.079 makes them vulnerable, I guess. Hugely vulnerable 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:53.339 to frost. We'll get into that. But yeah, the 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:56.459 flowers themselves, white to pink to red. Pink 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:58.920 or red is typical for the fruit varieties we 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.139 eat. Okay, so it takes, what, two or three years 00:05:01.139 --> 00:05:03.819 to start bearing fruit? And the growth pattern 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:06.259 is complex. Something sigmoid? Double sigmoid 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:08.379 curve, yeah. It sounds technical, but it's basically. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:11.360 Phase one, rapid growth of the fruit loop. Phase 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.500 two, growth slows right down. Phase three, another 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:17.329 burst of rapid growth just before ripening. Why 00:05:17.329 --> 00:05:19.149 the slowdown in the middle? What's happening 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:21.629 then? Ah, that's the critical part. That's when 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:24.350 the tree focuses energy inside. The pit is hardening. 00:05:24.430 --> 00:05:27.050 The seed inside is developing. The flesh growth 00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:30.410 pauses. I see. Only when that protective stone 00:05:30.410 --> 00:05:33.350 is fully formed does the flesh start its final 00:05:33.350 --> 00:05:36.870 swell, that rapid maturation phase. It's all 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:39.589 about protecting the next generation first. Affects 00:05:39.589 --> 00:05:41.639 harvest timing too. Which brings us back to the 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:43.540 pit, the stone. You said it's different from 00:05:43.540 --> 00:05:45.560 its relatives, like the almond, even though they're 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:48.199 both prunus. Yeah, subtly different but distinct. 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:51.920 The peach pit is usually larger, maybe less perfectly 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.699 round than an almond kernel. But the dead giveaway 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:57.459 is the texture. Texture. The outside of the stony 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:00.360 pit. It's not just pitted, like an almond. It's 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:02.879 also deeply furrowed. It has these definite grooves 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.160 or wrinkles etched into it. Almonds are just 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:08.100 pitted. That furrowing screams prunus persica. 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:11.560 Got it. Deeply furrowed. Okay, so we've established 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:13.579 the name is wrong. The structure is complex. 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.740 Let's fix the history. China, not Persia. Absolutely. 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:20.000 The proof is in the genetics. The greatest genetic 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:22.959 diversity, the ancestral home, is undeniably 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.800 China. It was domesticated there way back in 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:27.600 the Neolithic period. And that date keeps getting 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.040 pushed back, right? It wasn't just 2000 BCE. 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.420 No, much earlier. There was major research published 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:36.620 in 2014, found evidence of domestication starting 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:40.779 as early as 6000 BCE. That's 8000 years ago. 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:43.220 Wow. Where was this? In the Yangtze River Valley. 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:47.930 Specifically, near Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, 00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:50.509 the Kuoqia site. This puts peach cultivation 00:06:50.509 --> 00:06:52.670 right alongside some of the earliest known farming 00:06:52.670 --> 00:06:54.990 anywhere. And even before humans got involved, 00:06:55.250 --> 00:06:57.730 peaches or their ancestors were around for ages. 00:06:57.949 --> 00:07:00.769 Millions of years. We have fossil evidence. Endocarps, 00:07:00.769 --> 00:07:02.910 those stony pits again that look just like modern 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:05.370 peach pits, found in late Pliocene deposits in 00:07:05.370 --> 00:07:08.290 Kunming. Dated to about 2 .6 million years ago. 00:07:08.370 --> 00:07:11.230 They even named it Prunus Kunmingensis. So the 00:07:11.230 --> 00:07:13.670 basic design, the stone fruit strategy is ancient. 00:07:13.769 --> 00:07:15.509 Humans just tapped into it. Okay, so starting 00:07:15.509 --> 00:07:17.810 in the Yangtze Valley 8 ,000 years ago, how did 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:19.689 it spread everywhere? It seems incredibly successful. 00:07:20.050 --> 00:07:23.040 It was. Hardy, tasty, easy to grow from seed. 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:25.800 It moved east pretty quickly. Reached Japan, 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:30.540 maybe 4700, 4400 BCE. And southwest to India, 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.639 maybe 2500, 1700 BCE. The journey west took longer. 00:07:34.819 --> 00:07:36.480 Much longer. It eventually got to Greece around 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:39.540 300 BCE. Though the story about Alexander the 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:41.319 Great bringing it back is probably just, you 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:43.680 know, a nice story. But the Romans definitely 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:46.500 had it. Oh, yeah. By the first century CE, it 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:48.930 was common. We see it clearly in those amazing 00:07:48.930 --> 00:07:51.410 wall paintings preserved at Herculaneum from 00:07:51.410 --> 00:07:54.649 before Vesuvius blew in 79 CE. Detailed pictures. 00:07:54.790 --> 00:07:56.569 It was well established across the Roman Empire. 00:07:56.810 --> 00:07:58.829 But then production collapsed in Northwest Europe 00:07:58.829 --> 00:08:01.629 around the 6th century. What happened? Likely 00:08:01.629 --> 00:08:03.709 a combination of things. The fall of the Western 00:08:03.709 --> 00:08:06.189 Roman Empire meant the loss of sophisticated 00:08:06.189 --> 00:08:08.589 horticulture skills and infrastructure. Plus, 00:08:08.670 --> 00:08:11.810 climate shifts, maybe cooler periods. Fruit growing 00:08:11.810 --> 00:08:13.930 took a hit. It revived a bit later, maybe around 00:08:13.930 --> 00:08:16.829 the 9th century. And the next big jump was, predictably... 00:08:17.409 --> 00:08:19.509 Colonialism. Right. Spanish explorers took it 00:08:19.509 --> 00:08:21.569 to the Americas in the 16th century and it just 00:08:21.569 --> 00:08:24.170 took off there. Argentina had it by 1580 and 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:26.069 it spread north from there. And this is where 00:08:26.069 --> 00:08:29.149 the story in the U .S. gets complicated and quite 00:08:29.149 --> 00:08:31.089 dark. It seems indigenous communities adopted 00:08:31.089 --> 00:08:34.789 it really fast. Incredibly fast. Faster maybe 00:08:34.789 --> 00:08:37.889 than some European colonists. Records show Native 00:08:37.889 --> 00:08:41.070 Americans in Virginia. growing peaches by 1629. 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:43.789 Some sources even suggest their varieties were 00:08:43.789 --> 00:08:46.429 better adapted, maybe finer tasting, than the 00:08:46.429 --> 00:08:49.129 early English imports. It became a vital food 00:08:49.129 --> 00:08:52.149 source for them. Absolutely. Reliable, storable 00:08:52.149 --> 00:08:55.190 when dried, which tragically made it a target, 00:08:55.289 --> 00:08:57.570 a weapon of war, essentially, used by the U .S. 00:08:57.590 --> 00:08:59.909 military. Destroying food sources as a tactic. 00:09:00.169 --> 00:09:02.850 Exactly. Scorched earth. The sources mention 00:09:02.850 --> 00:09:05.889 the Sullivan Expedition in 1779 against the Iroquois 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:08.850 Confederacy in New York. Destroying vast orchards, 00:09:08.850 --> 00:09:11.610 including peach plantations, was a key part of 00:09:11.610 --> 00:09:13.149 breaking their ability to sustain themselves. 00:09:13.470 --> 00:09:15.529 And the Navajo campaign is maybe the most infamous 00:09:15.529 --> 00:09:19.190 example. Kit Carson in 1864. Yes, in Canyon de 00:09:19.190 --> 00:09:21.570 Chile. Soldiers wrote about destroying thousands 00:09:21.570 --> 00:09:24.129 of what they called the best peach trees. It 00:09:24.129 --> 00:09:26.490 wasn't collateral damage. It was deliberate agricultural 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:28.950 and cultural destruction. A terrible chapter. 00:09:29.149 --> 00:09:31.649 But there's also this incredible story of resilience 00:09:31.649 --> 00:09:34.190 there. Right, the Navajo didn't just give up 00:09:34.190 --> 00:09:36.809 on their peaches. No, they managed to save pits. 00:09:37.029 --> 00:09:39.710 And remarkably, peach trees are quite vigorous. 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:42.370 Many of the trees that were cut down actually 00:09:42.370 --> 00:09:45.730 re -sprouted from the stumps. So by the 1870s, 00:09:45.730 --> 00:09:49.190 1880s, they had managed to restore many of their 00:09:49.190 --> 00:09:52.570 orchards. It shows how deeply rooted the peach 00:09:52.570 --> 00:09:55.139 had become. both culturally and literally. And 00:09:55.139 --> 00:09:57.960 that resilience speaks to how successful the 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:01.139 peach is, not just in cultivation, but just spreading 00:10:01.139 --> 00:10:04.179 on its own as an escapee. It's incredibly successful 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:06.679 at that. Think about it. People eat the fruit, 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:09.440 toss the pit. If conditions are vaguely right, 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:12.580 boom, a new tree. So it's basically gone feral. 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:16.460 Pretty much. Naturalized or escaped across Central 00:10:16.460 --> 00:10:19.580 Asia, Europe, parts of Africa like South Africa, 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:22.960 Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand, most of the 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:25.460 contiguous U .S., it's a real opportunist. Okay, 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:27.700 let's shift gears to growing them today. Modern 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:30.179 cultivation. Despite that history of toughness, 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:32.259 growing peaches commercially seems really challenging, 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:34.139 especially with climate. Oh, it is. The number 00:10:34.139 --> 00:10:36.200 one hurdle is the chilling requirement. Right, 00:10:36.259 --> 00:10:38.320 they need that cold period over winter. Yeah. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:40.809 How much? Most common types need between 600 00:10:40.809 --> 00:10:43.470 and 1 ,000 hours, where the temperature is between, 00:10:43.570 --> 00:10:47.009 say, 4 and 10 degrees Celsius, roughly 40 to 00:10:47.009 --> 00:10:50.450 50 Fahrenheit. 1 ,000 hours below 10 C? That's 00:10:50.450 --> 00:10:54.129 a lot. What if they don't get it? Bad news. Dormancy 00:10:54.129 --> 00:10:56.870 isn't broken properly. Blooming is erratic, delayed. 00:10:57.269 --> 00:10:59.769 Buds don't open well. You get very poor fruit 00:10:59.769 --> 00:11:02.490 set. Basically, no crop. So you need specific 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:06.620 climates. Or specific varieties. Exactly. Growers 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:09.399 in warmer regions rely on low chill cultivars. 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.259 Some need less than 100 hours. Bred specifically 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:15.159 for places like, say, high altitudes in the tropics 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:18.000 where winters are mild. So it needs cold, but 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:19.820 it's also super vulnerable to cold, especially 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:22.019 because it blooms so early. That sounds like 00:11:22.019 --> 00:11:24.059 a nightmare for growers. It's the biggest risk, 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.460 definitely. The tree itself can handle deep cold, 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:29.279 maybe minus 26, minus 30 Celsius. But the flower 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:31.960 buds. much more delicate. How delicate? They 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:33.840 can be killed off between minus 15 and minus 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.519 25 C. And because they bloom so early, maybe 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:38.240 February or March. Right when you get those late 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.779 spring frosts. Precisely. A dip below about minus 00:11:42.779 --> 00:11:45.720 1 .1 Celsius, just below freezing during bloom, 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:48.139 can wipe out the entire year's harvest. It's 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:50.899 a constant gamble. Wow. What else makes them 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:53.600 tricky to grow besides temperature? Disease is 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.389 a big one. Peach leaf curl. It's a fungal disease. 00:11:56.590 --> 00:11:58.970 Loves cool, wet conditions during bud break. 00:11:59.149 --> 00:12:01.549 Can devastate the foliage and weaken the tree. 00:12:02.110 --> 00:12:04.190 Fungicides are pretty standard in many regions. 00:12:04.330 --> 00:12:07.210 And they're hungry trees. Very hungry. They need 00:12:07.210 --> 00:12:10.269 well -draining soil. Sandy loam is ideal. And 00:12:10.269 --> 00:12:12.990 they need way more nitrogen fertilizer than, 00:12:13.070 --> 00:12:16.570 say, apple trees. You can see nitrogen deficiency 00:12:16.570 --> 00:12:20.370 easily. Yellow leaves. Poor growth. Okay, and 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:22.210 then there's this practice that sounds kind of 00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:25.269 wasteful. Thinning, removing fruit. Ah, yes. 00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:28.090 Thinning. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's 00:12:28.090 --> 00:12:30.649 absolutely essential for quality. Why? If you 00:12:30.649 --> 00:12:32.250 let every single flower develop into a fruit, 00:12:32.350 --> 00:12:34.289 the tree just can't support them all properly. 00:12:34.389 --> 00:12:36.750 It spreads its resources too thin. Oh. You end 00:12:36.750 --> 00:12:39.309 up with lots of tiny, sour, flavorless peaches. 00:12:39.370 --> 00:12:41.669 So growers have to go through usually mid -season 00:12:41.669 --> 00:12:43.889 and physically remove a large percentage of the 00:12:43.889 --> 00:12:46.470 developing fruitlets. To force the tree to focus 00:12:46.470 --> 00:12:48.549 on the remaining ones. Exactly. So those ones 00:12:48.549 --> 00:12:52.049 get bigger, sweeter, develop better flavor, quality 00:12:52.049 --> 00:12:54.750 over quantity. Makes sense. Okay, let's talk 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:57.149 varieties and genetics. The peach genome was 00:12:57.149 --> 00:12:59.830 sequenced back in 2013. What did that tell us? 00:13:00.049 --> 00:13:02.710 It was a huge international effort, mapped about 00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:06.570 227 million base pairs across its eight chromosomes. 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:09.870 And the big takeaway, humans have really shaped 00:13:09.870 --> 00:13:12.470 this fruit, and not always in ways that maintain 00:13:12.470 --> 00:13:15.419 diversity. How so? The analysis showed clear 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:19.200 evidence of major genetic bottlenecks. Domestication 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:21.360 and breeding have drastically reduced the overall 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:24.279 genetic diversity compared to wild ancestors. 00:13:24.700 --> 00:13:26.799 We picked the traits we liked and lost others 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:29.759 along the way. Basically, yes. Two main bottlenecks. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.320 The first was that initial domestication in China, 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:34.740 selecting for larger, sweeter fruit thousands 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:37.500 of years ago. The second was more recent during 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:39.299 its spread to Europe and especially with modern 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:41.759 breeding programs in the West. Focusing on what? 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:45.269 Shipping? Appearance. Pretty much, which leads 00:13:45.269 --> 00:13:47.889 to how we categorize them today. You've got your 00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:50.070 two main types based on the pit. Clingstones 00:13:50.070 --> 00:13:53.470 and freestones? Right. Clingstones, flesh sticks 00:13:53.470 --> 00:13:55.710 tight to the pit. They're firmer, hold their 00:13:55.710 --> 00:13:58.299 shape well when heated. Perfect for canning, 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:00.220 processing. Like freestones. Flesh comes away 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:02.600 easily. Much cleaner to eat fresh. That's what 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:04.419 you usually want for slicing and eating raw. 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:06.240 And that modern breeding seems obsessed with 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.440 making them tough, right? Undeniably. The big 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.220 push has been for firmness. So they survive being 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:13.639 picked by machine, packed, shipped thousands 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.279 of miles. Also getting that really nice red blush 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:19.240 for eye appeal in the store. And shorter fuzz. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:22.379 Shorter fuzz. Easier to handle. Maybe looks cleaner. 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.000 Yeah. But the big casualty in all this focus 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.179 on toughness and looks. Is flavor. Often, yes. 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:31.279 Those complex volatile compounds that make a 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.799 peach taste amazing, they're delicate. Breeding 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:36.659 for shelf life and appearance is frequently meant 00:14:36.659 --> 00:14:39.059 sacrificing flavor. It's a common complaint. 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:41.679 Okay, now for the big reveal we teased earlier, 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:45.639 the nectarine. If the peach is Prunus persica. 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.009 The nectarine is. Prunus persica. Same species. 00:14:49.289 --> 00:14:51.309 Exactly the same. So not a peach plum cross. 00:14:51.450 --> 00:14:53.889 That's what I always thought. Nope. Common myth. 00:14:54.009 --> 00:14:56.110 It's just a natural genetic mutation of the peach. 00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:59.289 A spontaneous one. How does the fuzz just disappear 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:02.210 then? It's down to one gene. A single recessive 00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:04.990 allele. Fuzziness, those little hairs called 00:15:04.990 --> 00:15:07.929 trichomes, is the dominant trait. Okay. But there's 00:15:07.929 --> 00:15:11.350 a gene, PPMYB25. It's a transcription factor. 00:15:12.350 --> 00:15:15.169 If a tree inherits two copies of the recessive 00:15:15.169 --> 00:15:18.769 version of this gene, poof, no fuzz. Smooth skin. 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:22.129 A nectarine. So if it gets even one copy of the 00:15:22.129 --> 00:15:24.870 dominant fuzzy version. It's a peach. Simple 00:15:24.870 --> 00:15:27.690 Mendelian genetics, really. Fascinating. And 00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:30.629 does the lack of fuzz change anything else besides 00:15:30.629 --> 00:15:33.190 the feel? Yeah, visually the skin color looks 00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:35.549 brighter, more intense, without the fuzz kind 00:15:35.549 --> 00:15:38.029 of muting it. Nectarines are often slightly smaller, 00:15:38.090 --> 00:15:40.529 sometimes a bit sweeter. That vivid color probably 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:43.019 fuels the plum cross myth. And just to confuse 00:15:43.019 --> 00:15:44.799 things further, there are things like peacherines. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:46.500 Yeah, that's mostly a marketing name. You see 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:48.980 it in Australia, New Zealand sometimes. Claiming 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:52.299 a cross, which, well, given that the same species 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:54.559 is biologically a bit weird. And flat peaches. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.960 Donut peaches. Right, the Pantao types. Just 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:00.539 a different shape. Still Punus persica. Genetically 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:03.279 fascinating variety within the species. One last 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:05.519 science bit. Ripening. You mentioned shipping 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:08.690 demands durability. Peaches ripen after picking, 00:16:08.850 --> 00:16:11.889 right? They do. They're climacteric fruits, like 00:16:11.889 --> 00:16:14.870 bananas or tomatoes. They continue ripening after 00:16:14.870 --> 00:16:17.889 harvest, driven by ethylene gas and auxin hormones. 00:16:18.210 --> 00:16:19.889 Which is great for shipping. Pick them hard and 00:16:19.889 --> 00:16:22.570 green. Exactly. Ship them, then ripen and mirror 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:25.649 the market. But there's a tradeoff. Nutrition. 00:16:25.909 --> 00:16:29.370 Flavor again. Both, potentially. Sources suggest 00:16:29.370 --> 00:16:32.169 vitamin C levels are highest when the fruit ripens 00:16:32.169 --> 00:16:34.710 fully on the tree. And commercially, they often 00:16:34.710 --> 00:16:38.009 use a chemical, 1 -MCP, to block ethylene and 00:16:38.009 --> 00:16:40.649 delay ripening even further for transport. And 00:16:40.649 --> 00:16:42.730 that affects flavor. It does. It keeps them firm 00:16:42.730 --> 00:16:44.950 longer. But it's known to hinder the development 00:16:44.950 --> 00:16:47.350 of those complex aroma compounds. Another hit 00:16:47.350 --> 00:16:49.669 for taste in the name of logistics. Right. Let's 00:16:49.669 --> 00:16:52.009 move from the orchard to culture. The peach carries 00:16:52.009 --> 00:16:54.929 so much symbolic weight, especially in East Asia. 00:16:55.509 --> 00:16:58.289 Longevity seems key. It's the ultimate symbol 00:16:58.289 --> 00:17:00.809 of long life and vitality in China. And that 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:03.980 goes way back. The ancient Chinese observed the 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:07.240 peach tree flowering incredibly early, bursting 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.579 with life when everything else was still dormant. 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:12.819 More vitality, they thought, than any other tree. 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:15.579 And they believed that vitality could be harnessed. 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:18.700 Absolutely. Peach wood became a powerful tool 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:21.359 against evil spirits, against spectral forces. 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:24.279 You'd have peach wood rods used by exorcists, 00:17:24.339 --> 00:17:27.200 amulets carved from peach pits or wood for protection 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:29.839 and health, even peach wood bows to shoot arrows 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.599 and dispel evil. Wow. So planting one near your 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:35.119 door was literally for good luck and protection. 00:17:35.319 --> 00:17:37.720 And there's a specific deity associated with 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:41.029 it. Shoujin. The god of longevity. You almost 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:43.049 always see him depicted holding a giant peach 00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:45.849 or leaning on a staff topped with one. It is 00:17:45.849 --> 00:17:47.829 the symbol of long life. And that continues today 00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:50.769 in food. Yeah, the shotabo. Yeah. Longevity peach 00:17:50.769 --> 00:17:52.809 buns. Served at birthdays for older people. They're 00:17:52.809 --> 00:17:54.569 not actual peaches, usually lotus -based buns. 00:17:54.910 --> 00:17:57.470 But shaped and colored to look exactly like a 00:17:57.470 --> 00:18:00.130 perfect peach. A symbolic offering. It pops up 00:18:00.130 --> 00:18:02.509 in famous literature too, doesn't it? Oh, definitely. 00:18:02.690 --> 00:18:05.289 The famous Oath of the Peach Garden. In Romance 00:18:05.289 --> 00:18:08.269 of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Bei, Guan Yu, Yan Fei. 00:18:08.589 --> 00:18:12.809 It signifies that deep, unbreakable bond. And 00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:15.250 utopia. Tell Yan Ming's peach blossom spring. 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:18.490 This hidden valley, discovered by chance, full 00:18:18.490 --> 00:18:21.369 of blossoming peach trees. A metaphor for an 00:18:21.369 --> 00:18:24.670 earthly paradise, a utopia away from the world's 00:18:24.670 --> 00:18:26.470 troubles. And then there's this other really 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:30.190 intriguing term, fontao, the divided peach. Ah, 00:18:30.190 --> 00:18:33.579 yes, fascinating bit of cultural history. Fontel 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:36.359 became a classical literary allusion, a byword, 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:39.039 for male homosexuality in China. How did that 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:41.180 happen? It comes from a story in the Han Feizi, 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:44.000 an ancient text, about a courtier named Mitzi 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.920 Shia and his lover, Duke Ling of Wei. Mitzi Shia 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:49.420 was eating a peach, found it delicious, and gave 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:51.519 the rest to the duke to share. A gesture of affection. 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:54.779 Initially, the duke praised him for it. But later, 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.099 when Mitzi Shia fell out of favor, the duke used 00:18:57.099 --> 00:18:59.440 that same act. He even gave me a peach he'd already 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.640 bitten, as evidence of his disrespect. shows 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.380 the fickle nature of power, but the term fontal 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:08.140 stuck, signifying that intimate sharing. Incredible 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:11.400 context for just sharing a piece of fruit. Does 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:14.000 that symbolism carry over elsewhere in Asia? 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:16.460 It does, with variations. Peachwood wands are 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:18.460 still used in Korean shamanism for protection. 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.680 In Japan, you have the super famous folk tale 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:24.240 of Momotaro the Peach Boy, born from a giant 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.759 peach. Right. And in Vietnam, the blossoming 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:30.220 peach flower, hoadao, is the signal of spring. 00:19:30.750 --> 00:19:33.009 Absolutely central to the total Lunar New Year 00:19:33.009 --> 00:19:35.950 celebrations. Okay, shifting westward. How did 00:19:35.950 --> 00:19:38.309 the peach feature in European art? Renaissance 00:19:38.309 --> 00:19:40.970 painters loved it. They did. Caravaggio, Renoir, 00:19:40.970 --> 00:19:45.130 Monet, Van Gogh. Lots of famous still lifes feature 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:47.950 peaches prominently. The symbolism was a bit 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:50.349 different, though, related. How so? Scholars 00:19:50.349 --> 00:19:52.269 suggest that in Renaissance symbolism, the peach 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:54.690 often represented the heart. And if it had a 00:19:54.690 --> 00:19:56.789 leaf still attached, the leaf symbolized the 00:19:56.789 --> 00:19:59.299 tongue. Heart and tongue. So speaking truth. 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.559 Exactly. Speaking truth from one's heart. Sincerity. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:05.220 A ripe peach could also just symbolize good health 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:07.619 and vitality, similar to the East Asian meaning. 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:09.960 And Caravaggio, you mentioned, brought a certain 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:12.799 realism to it. Yeah, he was famous for it. While 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:15.259 others painted perfect, almost unnaturally flawless 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:18.539 fruit, Caravaggio would paint peaches with, say, 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:22.279 a wormhole in a leaf or a slight bruise or blemish. 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:25.430 Why? It added this layer of realism, maybe even 00:20:25.430 --> 00:20:28.230 a moral or spiritual message, like even truth 00:20:28.230 --> 00:20:31.029 or health in this world are subject to decay, 00:20:31.289 --> 00:20:34.250 to imperfection. It wasn't just decoration. It 00:20:34.250 --> 00:20:36.609 was commentary. Now let's tackle that American 00:20:36.609 --> 00:20:39.930 paradox, Georgia, the peach state, which isn't 00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:42.690 quite accurate anymore. It's a classic case of 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:46.200 branding success, outpacing reality. Georgia 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:49.000 absolutely earned that nickname in the late 19th 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:51.599 century, 1870s, 80s. They were huge producers 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:53.900 then and brilliant at marketing and shipping 00:20:53.900 --> 00:20:56.200 them north. But today? Today, California is number 00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:59.400 one by a huge margin. Then South Carolina. Georgia 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:02.299 is third. And peaches are actually a tiny fraction 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:04.599 of Georgia's total agricultural economy now, 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:06.920 less than 1%. So the nickname stuck, but the 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:08.839 industry shifted. And there were political reasons 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:11.039 for promoting the peach back then. Definitely. 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:13.220 It was part of that post -Civil War New South 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:16.220 narrative. Promoting peaches, a high -value, 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:19.299 clean crop, helped project an image of progress, 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:22.420 moving beyond the reliance on cotton. But that 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:25.519 narrative had its own issues. It did. It often 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.559 glossed over the labor reality. Just like cotton, 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:31.460 the peach harvest relied heavily on black labor, 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.079 often under exploitative conditions that the 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.099 progressive image tried to obscure. So the nickname 00:21:37.099 --> 00:21:39.700 itself is tied up in that complex history of 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:43.079 race, labor, and regional identity. Despite the 00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:45.160 production shift, the peach is still official 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:47.559 state fruit there. Yep. Georgia made it official 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:50.619 in 1995, and South Carolina, the number two producer, 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:53.299 actually beat them to it, designating it state 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:56.259 fruit in 1984. Delaware uses the peach blossom 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:58.420 as its state flower, too. Okay, wrapping up with 00:21:58.420 --> 00:22:00.420 health, what's actually in a peach, nutritionally? 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.450 Mostly water, about 88%. about 10 % carbohydrates, 00:22:04.769 --> 00:22:07.150 pretty low in calories, around 46 per 100 grams. 00:22:07.349 --> 00:22:09.470 The sweetness mainly comes from sucrose. But 00:22:09.470 --> 00:22:11.670 the health benefits are more in the micronutrients, 00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:13.890 the phytochemicals. That's where the power is. 00:22:14.069 --> 00:22:16.529 They're packed with polyphenols, things like 00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:19.609 chlorogenic acid, catechins, epicatechins, powerful 00:22:19.609 --> 00:22:22.589 antioxidants. If you like red -fleshed peaches, 00:22:22.730 --> 00:22:24.930 they're rich in anthocyanins too. And where are 00:22:24.930 --> 00:22:28.180 these compounds concentrated? The skin. Things 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:30.759 like flavanols and cyanidins are highest right 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:33.339 in the skin. So if you tolerate the fuzz, eating 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:34.920 the skin is definitely the way to get the most 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:37.859 benefit. And that amazing smell, we said it's 00:22:37.859 --> 00:22:40.839 complex. Incredibly complex. Around 110 different 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.259 volatile compounds have been identified contributing 00:22:43.259 --> 00:22:46.599 to that classic peach aroma. Alcohols, ketones, 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.599 esters. The exact blend varies a lot between 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:51.880 cultivars. Which explains why some taste bland 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:54.059 and others are amazing. And why breeding for 00:22:54.059 --> 00:22:56.259 shipping can accidentally kill that aroma profile. 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:00.000 Right. Lastly, the warning. The pit. It's related 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:02.859 to almonds, cherries. They all have this issue, 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:06.720 right? Cyanogenic glycosides. Specifically, amygdalin 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:09.200 in peach seeds. It's a chemical defense for the 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.839 seed. And if you eat it? Your digestive system 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:15.019 breaks down amygdalin into sugar, benzaldehyde, 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:17.730 which gives that faint... bitter almond smell, 00:23:17.950 --> 00:23:21.769 and crucially, hydrogen cyanide, which is highly 00:23:21.769 --> 00:23:25.029 toxic. So definitely don't crack open pits and 00:23:25.029 --> 00:23:27.349 eat the kernels. Definitely not in any quantity. 00:23:27.569 --> 00:23:30.549 The risk is real. Although, commercially, they 00:23:30.549 --> 00:23:32.930 do use it. Because the kernel does taste like 00:23:32.930 --> 00:23:35.430 almond, processed peach kernels are used to make 00:23:35.430 --> 00:23:37.809 something called persipan. It's like marzipan, 00:23:37.829 --> 00:23:40.630 but cheaper, using peach kernels instead of almonds. 00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:43.970 Used in baking sometimes. Huh. Okay. And allergies. 00:23:44.049 --> 00:23:46.089 Are peach allergies common? Relatively common, 00:23:46.250 --> 00:23:48.329 yes. Linked to proteins in the fruit, especially 00:23:48.329 --> 00:23:51.490 the skin. Reactions can range from mild, like 00:23:51.490 --> 00:23:54.089 itchy mouth, oral allergy syndrome, all the way 00:23:54.089 --> 00:23:56.569 to severe anaphylaxis. But peeling helps sometimes. 00:23:56.849 --> 00:23:59.490 Often, yes. Since some key allergens are in the 00:23:59.490 --> 00:24:03.039 skin, peeling can make a difference. Also, cooking 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:05.779 or canning denatures the proteins, so canned 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:07.720 peaches are often safe for people allergic to 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:09.960 fresh ones. Okay, what a journey. We started 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:12.160 with this massive global production dominated 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:16.259 by China. Right, 65%. Then dove back 8 ,000 years 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:19.220 to its origins in the Yangtze Valley, traced 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:23.039 its tough journey west, and its, frankly, dark 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:26.980 role as a tool of war in North America. We unraveled 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:29.519 the botany nectarines just being fuzzless peaches 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:32.599 due to one gene, saw how growers fight climate, 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:35.359 needing chill but fearing frost. And how that 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:37.539 relentless drive for shippable, good -looking 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:39.920 fruit has often pushed Flader down the priority 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:42.140 list. So yeah, what this all means is that simple 00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:44.619 piece of fruit you hold, it's loaded. Millennia 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:47.099 of history, deep cultural roots from China to 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:50.279 Europe, complex genetics. It really is. Which 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:52.119 leads to a pretty provocative thought for the 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:54.369 future, doesn't it? Go on. We know modern breeding 00:24:54.369 --> 00:24:56.470 has sacrificed flavor for firmness and looks. 00:24:56.589 --> 00:24:59.170 We know the genome is sequenced. We know roughly 00:24:59.170 --> 00:25:02.029 which of those 110 volatile chemicals create 00:25:02.029 --> 00:25:04.609 that perfect peach aroma. So what's the responsibility 00:25:04.609 --> 00:25:08.210 now? Do breeders have an ethical or even commercial 00:25:08.210 --> 00:25:11.170 duty to use that knowledge not just for logistics 00:25:11.170 --> 00:25:14.369 but to actively restore the amazing flavors of 00:25:14.369 --> 00:25:17.289 tree -ripened peaches? Think about it. There 00:25:17.289 --> 00:25:20.170 are nearly 500 recognized cultivars in China 00:25:20.170 --> 00:25:23.250 alone. What incredible lost taste might be hiding 00:25:23.250 --> 00:25:25.789 in that vast genetic library, waiting for us 00:25:25.789 --> 00:25:27.509 to find them again and bring back real flavor? 00:25:27.769 --> 00:25:29.569 Something fascinating to think about next time 00:25:29.569 --> 00:25:31.509 you bite into a peach. Thank you for joining 00:25:31.509 --> 00:25:32.289 us on this deep dive.