The date seed was among several obtained in the 1960s by archaeologists excavating Masada, the fortress in the Judean Desert built by Herod around 35 B.C. and destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 73. In 2005, three seeds were planted by Sarah Sallon of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center, part of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem. One seed germinated, and three years later, Dr. Sallon and colleagues report in Science that the resulting plant is healthy and more than three feet tall. Radiocarbon testing of shell fragments of the seed obtained when the plant was repotted at 15 months show that it dates from the time of Masada. The researchers say that the high summer temperatures and lack of rainfall in the desert may have helped keep the seed viable for so long by reducing the generation of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage. The Judean Dead Sea region around the first century A.D. was well known for its date palms that produced fruit of high quality, but over the centuries this line of plants was lost. Genetic analysis of the germinated seed has provided just limited information about this ancient line. The researchers say more seeds are needed for a more thorough understanding of what made those old dates so good.

THE greenhouse at Rutgers’s Snyder Research and Extension Farm here is full of plants, dozens of them, all sorts of shapes and varieties. This is where researchers tinker and experiment in search of the perfect vegetable, fruit, even the best grass for a lacrosse field. But one plant is clearly the star. Just a few spindly leaves a few weeks ago, it now has immature green fruit that will grow into a delicious Jersey tomato known as the Ramapo. After an absence of some 20 years, Rutgers scientists have brought it back. Among those responsible for its return is Jack Rabin, a trim 51-year-old who has spent his professional life trying to create ideal fruits and vegetables for the state’s farmers. Over the last 20 years, he said, growers, produce suppliers and scientists were looking for longer shelf life, brighter colors, firmer skin. Along the way, they lost sight of one important component: taste. But the Rutgers team is out to make up for past mistakes. That’s why they have brought back the Ramapo, the Cadillac of the famed tasty, zesty Jersey tomato. The seeds are available at some growers, and the fruit itself should show up in some roadstands and produce markets later on.