Goji x tomato hybrids : it can be done

[Nicollas]

Not much info, but a french company specialized in goji breeding managed to obtain Lycium barbarumx Solanum lycopersicum intergeneric hybrids. and french scientists are studying them.

The only doc i've found so far :

https://www6.paca.inra.fr/psh/content/download/3888/41116/version/1/file/Master%202%20internship%20proposal%20-%20Tersys.pdf
http://www.agropolis-fondation.fr/GOJINOV

In  line  with  this,  the  genetic  proximity  between  goji andtomato(Solanum  lycopersicum),  an  annual Solanaceae and a model species for the biology of fleshy fruits, offers promising avenues of research. Since  only  recently  we  know  that  both  species  can  be  crossed. Indeed,  the French  startup FPW, specialised in varietal innovation for goji (Silver medallist of the SIVAL Innovation 2017 competition), has recently obtained Lycium barbarumx Solanum lycopersicumhybrids. This novel genetic material, still uncharacterized, raises the question of dominance relationships for different traits such as plant lifespan  (goji  perennial  vs. tomato  annual),  berry  diameter (small  in  goji vs.  large  in  tomato),  or  the nature  and  quantity  of  metabolites  accumulated  in  the  fruits.  Hence,  it  is  tempting  to  speculate  on the  achievability  of  breeding  goji  varieties  with  larger  size,  or  tomato  cultivars  with  enhanced contents in polysaccharides.

So i hope a bunch of us will try this cross too !

[Nicollas]

another mention of this intergeneric hybrid in the forum : http://opensourceplantbreeding.org/forum/index.php?topic=82.msg1062#msg1062 about a cross in china.

[Andrew Barney]

Wow!
Very interesting! Not sure how I missed that comment before! But thanks for this. I've wondered before if other red fleshy wild Solanum species could cross with domestic tomatoes. Solanum dulcamara I ran across once. The fruits smelled sweet and tomato-like. Interesting how goji berry leaves seem to be similar to solanum dulcamara.

[Nicollas]

Yeah i missed it too, hopefully Taylor pointed it to me

I though about dulcamara too (a perennial or climbing tomato would be very cool) but goji has the advantage of beeing edible.

[spacecase0]

this sounds fantastic,
now I want to try it.

[Richard Watson]

This does sound interesting alright. Ive got Goji's growing which produce small amounts of fruit so I can get the pollen. Can sense another wee project coming up this summer....

[Andrew Barney]

Baker creek has a black goji berry.  It might provide an easier way to identify if a cross was successful. And might provide an alternate means to a blue/ black tomato like fruit.

If I were to try this I would select domesticated tomato as the mother and black goji as pollen donor.

[Woody Gardener]

Plant World Seeds in the UK has 2 varieties of black goji berries. The will ship to the US.
https://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/6309

[Peter]

You could always use a tomato with a dominant yellow trait. I think that's how Sungold has a recessive red color hidden beneath the yellow.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

My best guess is that the reds that occasionally show up in the descendants of Sungold are due to cross pollination.

[Johann Kuntz]

Did anyone here get to attempt the goji/tomato cross yet?

I have one clone each of Lycium barbarum and L. chinense.  I'll attempt the cross next year if I get bloom overlap between tomato and one or both of the goji.

[Garrett Schantz]

I am getting seed for Lycium berlandieri, barbarum, and chinense. Might get Lycium ruthenicum as well. Good amount of Lycium species that were used in Mexico - North America. Only really seem to see things about non-native types. Lycium berlandieri was used for food and medicinal uses. Oh yeah apparently has a life span of 90 years. Solanum sisymbriifolium are also apparently possible. Lot of potential for disease resistances and cold hardiness. Berlandieri does have spines though. There are many more species in the genus as well.

[Diane Whitehead]

I bought seeds of big black goji from England last year but none germinated.  And the description said it was "easy to grow".

[Adrian]

When i have a low rate of germination, i put the pottingsoil in an other pot mixed with a different pottingsoil.And sometimes i have a best germination rate.Sometimes the PH of the pottingsoil could bloqued the germination.
Sometime the seed required a cold period for germinate. If i was you i would try again with differents conditions.
A seed wich was not germinate is not lost!