SP#1:

This accession of Solanum peruvianum, it is certain, will radically change the future of cultivated tomatoes.

It is the only accession known to be interfertile with other series of subsection Lycopersicon, including S. lycopersicum, the cultivated tomato.

It therefore passes from its tertiary gene pool to the secondary gene pool and can therefore act as a genetic bridge between the cultivated tomato and its most genetically distant species.  

Thus greatly expanding the genetic material available for the improvement and introgression of new characters in cultivated tomatoes.

Redundant case in crosses between the cultivated tomato and the wild species of its secondary genetic pool: this is a unidirectional interfertility, fertilization will only succeed when Solanum peruvianum is used as pollen donor and Solanum lycopersicum as maternal parent.

The Peruvian tomato is a perennial species: the plants take a vegetative rest during the winter season by abandoning their aerial parts. Peruvian tomatoes can generally tolerate negative temperatures down to -5°C to -10°C and grow back the following spring.

This species is therefore very interesting for the development of new tomato lines focused on sustainability through modification of the life cycle, behavior and cold resistance.

It is obvious that the economic and commercial interests of large seed groups are not the same as those of independent research,

Therefore, in the past, when crosses with cultivated tomato were carried out, the objective was the introgression of resistance genes to various pests in obtaining commercial hybrids; and not to extend its capacity for sustainability to climates in the northern hemisphere.

While it is certain that on the side of independent research this will be the primary objective, a new Eldorado, in the same way as the purple tomatoes were.

S. peruvianum, due to its self-incompatibility (partial or total depending on the accessions), is strongly allogamous.

This accession was acquired by Joran's Seeds and Research in 2021 from Iwona Ziółkowska and Wojciech Maksymilian Szymański, Polish collectors of rare plants selling on eBay under the identifier: lupinaster.

They are resistant to various stresses of cultivated tomatoes, whether abiotic:

Drought, soil nutrient deprivation.

Or biotic (non-exhaustive lists):

• Pathogens: TYLCV, PMoV, TSWV, Cmm, ...

• Insect pests: Nematodes responsible for root galls (Meloidogyne sp.: M. arenaria,   M. incognita, M. Javanica), potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae), the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), ...

The Peruvian tomato has therefore been widely investigated for the improvement of cultivated tomatoes. However, embryos abort quickly after fertilization; to obtain viable hybrids, sophisticated and expensive embryo rescue techniques in vitro must be used; difficult to implement, even in the laboratory.

Genus: Solanum

Subgenre: Potatoe

Section: Petota

Subsection: Lycopersicon  

Series: Eriopersicon  

This Series brings together the species Solanum chilense, S. corneliomulleri, S. habrochaites,   S. huaylasense and S. peruvianum.