“TomTato”: Plant which produces potato and tomato unveiled in UK

A plant that produces both tomatoes and potatoes was launched in the UK market. The plant named The TomTato has been developed by the horticultural mail order company Thompson & Morgan. TomTato has the capability of growing over 500 sweet cherry tomatoes and also the white potatoes.

TomTato is not a result of genetic engineering, but it has been created by a technique known as grafting.

Many such plants had been created before but taste had previously been a problem. It is for the very first time such plants have been produced commercially.

How the TOMTATO is made?

1. Tomatoes and potatoes can be grafted together because they are members of the same plant family, Solanceae or nightshade, which also includes aubergines and chillies.
2. A piece of a size of a pinhead is sliced from each plant, checked for viruses and grown seperately ingel and then compost. Once they are 2in tall, their stems are cut at an ideticak angle so they can be grafted to each other.
3. The lower end of the potato, plant, containing the roots, and the top section of the tomato plant, which will bear fruit, are clipped together for about a week until a natural join forms.