Tomato stand-alone or multiple-bay greenhouses is on the increase, providing fruit during those times of the year when field-grown fruit is not readily available. Smaller sized fruit (cherry and grape), or cluster tomatoes (fruit-on-the-vine) are the fruit of choice for the large commercial greenhouse operators while the beefsteak varieties are the choice of owner-operator growers. Hydroponic technique is often used in hostile growing environments, as well as high-density plantings. To facilitate transportation and storage, tomatoes are often picked unripe (green) and ripened in storage with ethylene. Unripe tomatoes are firm. As they ripen they soften until reaching the ripe state where
Plum Middle Dutch, and Latin "prūnum", from Ancient Greek προῦμνον ("proumnon"), believed to be a loanword from Asia Minor. In the late 18th century, the word, plum, was used to indicate "something desirable", probably in reference to tasty fruit pieces in desserts. Plums are a diverse group of species. The commercially important plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned to 5–6 metres height. The tree is of medium hardiness. Without pruning, the trees can reach 12 metres in height and spread across 10 metres. They blossom in different months in different parts of the world; for example, in about January in Taiwan