Solanum pennellii

[William Schlegel]

That seems like it follows the pattern with wild tomato species. They grow in very different ecologies in South America but they have enough diversity to adapt.

[AndrewB]

I have struggled to grow Solanum pennellii, due to it's inability to grow in my fields. I had best success growing it in pots, in one particular potting compost. Over the past 4 years, I have been successively approximating open field conditions, and selecting for survival.

During the 2020 growing season, I grew about 100 Solanum pennellii in an open field, in the field's normal soil. About 7 plants produced fruits. More than that may have contributed pollen.

During the 2021 growing season, I wanted to grow only elite self-incompatible lines in my fields, and didn't want them contaminated with wild genetics. Therefore friends grew out patches of Solanum pennellii for me. They were planted into open fields. Both patches thrived, producing the largest plants yet. Yesterday I collected the last of the seed for them.

So that's a heck of a founder's effect, but at least now, I have a population that can grow in my fields without coddling.

That is great news!

I had a complete failure when it came to tomatoes (especially wild) tomatoes, mostly due to poor potting soil on my part, lack of attention early on, and extremely busy year. I've been more than embarrassed to mention it. More or less lost all the good seeds I had wanted to work with (especially the S. peruvianum hybrids from the USDA and TGRC lots). Hearing others have such good success has been nice to hear. Hoping to contribute to this project again in the future, though collecting seed again will be difficult. I guess major failures happen, so I've been trying to learn from my mistakes and take any success this year to be more meaningful. I did find a really tasty dwarf orange cherry tomato from the Sprouts super market this year (it even has the green shoulder gene), so it may be my favorite domestic tomato yet.

[Nicolas]

What i understand is that S. pennellii has the most potential to give some new / fruity / tropical flavor

It is the wild species at the foundation of Q-panamorous series

Joseph describe several lines with tropical flavors. Not offered to the public at this moment.

William has 'The One' with persimmon flavor.  Not offered to the public at this moment.

Any other that i forgot ?

Some introgressions from pennellii could be useful for the lucky ones having access to TGRC :

• LA4053 (I 4-4) - Identification of a Solanum pennellii Chromosome 4 Fruit Flavor and Nutritional Quality-Associated Metabolite QTL
  
• Introgression lines with salt tolerance (source)
• seed germination and seedling vigor (source)
• High brix (source)
  

[Nicolas]

Solanum pennellii can be a source for some late blight resistance different from PhX or resistance from habrochaites

https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PDIS-91-8-1045

[William Schlegel]

Now that The One is not a single plant anymore but a whole generation it has some variability and some uniformity. There was one plant that was like some of the sterile F2 penellii crosses and looked like a penellii. The flavor was variable I don't think I found a bad one but it is possible that they vary in texture from pepper like to normal and in flavor from normal tomato to close to their mother. I don't think we ever found the equal of the mother. I think they turn orange and then eventually red.

Most of them seem to produce very few seeds. Found one tomato that produced a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the offspring represent crosses with other promiscuous tomatoes last year and if most were selfed. I also grew it with Little Pumpkins and their are three clear little pumpkins plants but I think some of the little pumpkins offspring did not come true to their mother and thus represented crosses.

Still as a group they still give me more hope for chasing flavor than the run of the mill promiscuous project project tomatoes from 2020 and 2021. I need a new name though. Maybe "S34,S35,S36 ? or 2020 Bicolor ? Fruity flavors?"

I didn't get any successful hand crosses made with it in 2022. However I had it in three possible crossing blocks. The greenhouse, MMM & MMS, and the diversity garden. I have seed of MMM saved from the one block and The one saved from all three. So if it naturally outcrosses we will find out.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

This plant, and one similar, showed up in my population of Solanum pennellii. They seem off type, so I planted them at the end of the row where I can watch them. The flowers may tell more of the story.

I expect 5 round leaflets without serrations. This plant has 11 leaflets on the main rib.







 

[Joseph Lofthouse]

I grew a really nice population of Solanum pennellii in the greenhouse this spring. Lost half of them the day after up=potting due to inadequate water, but didn't have damping off problems this year. It seems to help to use a light/airy potting mix.