Pomato: Harnessing twin benefits of potato and tomato through grafting

Abstract

Grafted tomatoes onto potatoes (so that both are produced on the same plant) are christened as Pomato or tomtato. It is an innovative technology for harnessing dual benefit from single plant that can be produced on a small piece of land or pots or in balcony. Pomato seedlings are prepared by grafting of an improved cultivar of tomato or cherry tomato over seedlings of potato. ICAR-II VR, Varanasi has got success in producing pomato very efficiently and economically. About 1.5- 2.0 kg of tomatoes and 0.5-0.8 kg of potatoes are harvested from single pomato plant grown in pot. If indeterminate hybrid tomatoes are grafted onto potato and advanced production packages adopted, the productivity of pomato can be enhanced by two to three folds.