SOLANACEAE

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SOLANACEAE

• John Navazio
• Organic Seed Alliance

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Solanaceae

• 90 Genera
• 2,200 Species
• Five lobed calyx and usually five stamens
• Several crops that rank among the most important
  economic plants in the world
• Solanaceae abounds in plants with medicinal and
  poisonous properties
• Peppers, potatoes, tomatoes high in Vitamin C
• Peppers and tomatoes high in carotenoids

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Solanaceae

• Capsicum annuum most peppers
• Capsicum frutescens tabasco/squash types
  including Habanero
• Lycopersicon esculentum tomato
• Physalis ixocarpa - tomatillo
• Solanum tuberosum - potato
• Solanum melongena - eggplant

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Tomato

• Most spp. are perennial
• Cultivated as annuals
• Protogynous female receptive 16 to 18 hours
  before anthesis
• Pollen is viable for 2 to 5 days
• Modern tomatoes have 94 to 99 selfs
• Older tomato types have exerted stigmas and may
  have a higher rate of outcrossing

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Peppers

• Columbus named them, perhaps thinking of them as
  a substitute for Piper nigrum
• Capsaicin is actually four related compounds that
  cause the heat
• Stress will increase Capsaicin content
• Peppers are rich in many carotenoids most notably
  Capsanthin Cryptoxanthin
• Vitamin C first purified from peppers

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Eggplant

• Originally from India
• Wild relatives are poisonous
• White versions were first used in Europe
• Fruit maturity is well past the eating stage
• In Italian melanzana means mad apple
• In Latin melogena means soothing mad apple

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Potato

• Fourth most important staple crop
• Became the staple of the poor in Europe within
  200 years of its introduction
• Highest yielding crop on earth
• Easy to cultivate in rough ground and renegade
  plots, the apples of life
• Phytophthera infestans caused the Irish Potato
  Famine of 1846-1848 with 1.5 million people
  dead/1.5 million emigrants

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Solanaceae - seeds

• Seeds are usually wet extracted
• Possible to kill seed-borne diseases through
  fermentation during this process
• Tomatoes must ferment
• No fermentation for peppers and eggplant
• Tomatoes you do not need to add water
• Peppers, potatoes and eggplant add water for seed
  extraction
• Peppers must wear protective clothing!