South African farmers Dean and Deon Barnard have grown the world's heaviest plum, weighing 464.15 grams, according to Guinness World Records.

The fruit is the size of a baseball and surpasses the previous record held by a Kiyo plum grown in Japan in 2021, which weighed 109.78 grams.

The Barnards' plum was grown on Oppie Plaas Boerdery Farm, where they cultivate commercial plum orchards covering seven hectares.

“The record plum came from a commercial tree that had about 150 plums on it. I didn’t make any special preparations to grow it that large," Dean said, according to Guinness World Records.

The plum, of the Autumn Treat variety, weighed 480 g when it was first harvested, but moisture loss caused it to lose a few grams.

Dean and Deon have been growing plums for the past eight years, although they were previously unfamiliar with the fruit. They also produce hops, almonds, and pecans but are reportedly replacing the latter two with more plum trees.

They also found a couple of other plums over the previous record in this year's crop, ranging from 400 g to 450 g.

“Our area has a lot of unique microclimates and that helps plums a lot,” Dean explained.

“We take soil samples annually and then add what is needed. We also have a top-notch plum specialist who helps us with production and quality.”

For Dean, it feels “unreal” to have broken the world record, and he now has challenges to produce the world's first 500-gram plum.

*Photographs Guinness World Records.