My Solanum sect. Solanum crosses

Started by Geum, 2026-07-15, 02:53:54 AM

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Geum

Hey everyone, I'm currently working on the following crosses of Solanum sect. solanum (mother x father):

- S. scabrum x S. nigrum -- growing F1 plants
- S. scabrum x S. nitidibaccatum -- growing F2 plants
- S. scabrum x S. sarrachoides -- waiting for fruit to develop
- S. scabrum x S. villosum -- from what I read this shouldn't be possible but out of 3 pollinated flowers, 2 are forming fruit. The hybrid will likely be a sterile pentaploid due to differing ploidy
- S. villosum x S. retroflexum -- waiting for fruit to ripen
- S. pimpinellifolium (wild tomato) x S. sarrachoides -- both are diploids but it likely won't work due to how genetically far away they are, either way it doesn't hurt to try

S. scabrum is a valuable parent because unlike the rest it has large and firm berries. However they don't taste good raw. If they're not bitter, they're largely tasteless with a slight hint of tomato flavor in them.

The goal in that case will be to get a plant with the taste of the father while preserving the fruit size and firmness of the mother.

My S. villosum is red and is practically not sweet at all, tasting strongly of tomato (or tomatillo). Crossing it with the sweet S. retroflexum could lead to something interesting.