Have you ever wondered about planting both tomatoes and potatoes in the same plant ? Is it possible ? Yes it is but with the help of Genetic Engineering Technology. If you want to know further do not skip reading!!!!
Pomato’s general idea-
The tomato and potato plants are grafted together to create the pomato plant, which you are welcome to call tomato if you choose. They produce crops of both potatoes and tomatoes without degrading the quality.
The tomato and potato plants are grafted together to create the pomato plant, which you are welcome to call tomato if you choose. They produce crops of both potatoes and tomatoes without degrading the quality.
What is a Transgenic crop?
Genes are transferred from one creature to another using genetic engineering techniques to create transgenic plants. Creating transgenic plants is done to create a species with the best qualities, highest yield, and best quality. They are also called Genetically Modified Organism (GMO).
Why is Pomato a transgenic crop ?
The pomato is a transgenic crop produced by protoplast fusion of a tomato plant and a potato plant. Both belongs to Solanaceae family. Pomato plants maximize the amount of crop production. In addition, protoplast fusion can improve resistance to organisms, attract many pollinators and provide delicate ornamental plants.
Planting Tomatoes: The Basics behind this creation
Previously uncommon specialties, tomato plants are now in popular demand as garden essentials. Small-scale gardeners who may save room by growing a tomato and potato plant in the same container are particularly interested in tomatoes.
By transplanting the roots of a potato plant onto the stem of a tomato plant, the Pomato plant was developed as a speciality garden crop. The tissue from the two plants can meld together to form a single plant since the tomato and potato belong to the same plant family. The Pomato plant, also known as a “Tomtato,” has very similar growing requirements to most nightshades. The majority of specialty garden centers now sell tomato plants, whereas earlier gardeners had to grow their own at home. The moniker “Ketchup ‘N’ Fries” is suitable for the most well-known variety of Pomato.
Purchasing tomato seeds
Most specialized nurseries and even big-box garden centers have tomato plants. But because they are novelty and specialist plants, they frequently sell out quickly. Super Naturals Grafted Vegetables’ “Ketchup n ‘Fries” variety is the most popular (who also sell grafted tomatoes). Pomato plants are occasionally referred to as “Tomtato” plants.
The following garden centers sell tomato plants:
- Ketchup ‘N’ Fries™ Pomato Plant from Territorial Seed
- Pomato Plant by Hirt’s Gardens at Walmart
Creating Pomato Plants
By grafting the top half of a tomato plant onto the bottom half of a potato plant, tomato plants are produced. Pomato plants cannot currently be grown from seeds. Each plant must be created by hand using a small potato plant’s rootstock and a tomato seedling’s stem and leaves.
Both a young seedling tomato plant and a sprouting baby potato plant are necessary to grow a Pomato plant. Both the above- and below-ground parts of the tomato and potato plants are necessary for growing tomatoes. While any tomato and potato variety can be utilized, small-fruited cherry tomatoes and early potato kinds that provide top-notch young potatoes are the most popular options.
Cutting the lower portion of the main stem, which is above the soil line but below the bottom leaves, divides each plant in half. Each stem is physically linked together using grafting tape after a fresh, clean cut is made so that the tissue can heal together to form a single plant unit. When growing their own tomato plants, gardeners usually graft up many plants in case one or more of the grafts fails to take.
What are the benefits of this Pomato plant?
Given that they increase the amount of crops that may be grown on a given plot of land or in a constrained urban space like a balcony, tomato plants have been hailed as a new technique to increase the efficiency of food production. Growing tomato plants can help farmers in underdeveloped nations like Kenya save money, time, and effort without sacrificing the quality of their produce. Additionally, grafting can increase a plant’s resilience to germs, viruses, and fungus, draw in a wider variety of pollinators, and give delicate decorative plants a solid trunk.
What are the disadvantages of the Transgenic plant?
- Allergens that would not have ordinarily penetrated the genetic makeup of the plants being worked on now show up when foreign genes are added, such as bacterial proteins. Because of this, as transgenic plant consumption rises, so do the number of allergy cases in humans.
- When a foreign gene is added to a genetic code that has been evolving for more than 200 million years, it is very likely to destabilize, which can lead to issues in both plants and people by making them sick.
- They either don’t generate seeds or, if they do, the seeds aren’t viable: The farmer will be forced to buy just the seeds that the major agricultural corporations give him, which is a very big concern.
But despite having advantages, Transgenesis also allows improvement of nutrients in animal products, including their quantity, the quality of the whole food, and specific nutritional composition. Transgenic technology could provide a means of transferring or increasing nutritionally beneficial traits.
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Writer,
Fahima Akter
YSSE
Content Writing Intern