| Tomato Collection |
|
USDA Tomato (Solanum) Collection
(Left) Harvesting tomatoes on the field and annual PGRU tomato harvest, (Center) Solanum lycopersicum L. (Allred) documentation photo, (Right) Solanum lycopersicum L. (Glamour) growing on the field
Solanum are members of the Solanaceae family. There are
many species associated with the genus; lycopersicum (tomato) and pimpinellifolium (currant tomato) being the most common. Tomatoes are annuals and will produce seed in one growing season.
This is the largest collection for the Plant Genetic Resources Unit's Seed Crops division with more than 6,600 accessions! Out of our vast collection, we house 15 unique species including: lycopersicum (5600, tomato), lycopersicum var. cerasiforme (cherry tomato), and pimpinellifolium (currant tomato).
The PGRU Solanum collection features accessions from all over the world, spanning almost a century-long history. Our oldest accession was collected from Peru in 1929 with our newest hybrid addition in 2004. Our collection has grown through the donation, collection, and development of Solanum germplasm. A majority of our collection is from the United States, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico.
Looking for plant germplasm? Review our distribution policy for germplasm requests.
For more information on growing practices, head to the TOMATO production page.
Visit the TOMATO crop page in GRIN-Global to find citations, descriptor data, and genetic markers.
Learn more about our collaboration project with the University of California, Davis on distributing wild tomato species germplasm here.
Contact joanne.labate@usda.gov for more information
Tomato Production in the United States
Data from USDA NASS
PGRU Tomato Accession Distribution 1987-2021
Data from GRIN-Global
