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Article: After the tomato, the veggie. (plant hybridization) (R&D Innovative Notebook)
- Article from:
- R & D
- Article date:
- February 1, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Advantage Business Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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According to the historians of such trivial pursuits, tomatoes were first commercially available in the United States on June 4, 1834. Since then, this comestible berry has become a dietary staple for salads and stews, juices and pastes, second in economic importance only to its rhyming rhizome cousin, the potato. (But, just to keep the record straight, the biggest volume seller by far is that perennial herb, the banana.)
Both the tomato and the potato originated in the South American Andes, available sources say, with the potato being introduced into Spain in 1534 and the tomato into Europe sometime during the mid-16th century by returning Spanish conquistadors. ...