Fruit grower's first to hire again (9)
I believe the answer is:
greengage
'fruit' is the definition.
(type of plum)
'grower's first to hire again' is the wordplay.
'grower's first' becomes 'g' (1st letter of 'grower').
'to hire again' becomes 'reengage' (engage or hire again).
'g'+'reengage'='GREENGAGE'
(Other definitions for greengage that I've seen before include "Fruit akin to plum" , "it's fruity" , "Garden fruit" , "Fruit like a small plum" , "Such a summer novel" .)