Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains a number of important agricultural crops and many toxic plantsThe family includes

Datura (Jimson weed)Mandragora (mandrake)Belladonna (deadly nightshade)Capsicum (paprika, chilli pepper)Solanum (potato, tomato, aubergine or eggplant)Nicotiana (tobacco)Petunia (petunia).

Most Solanaceae have basically 12 chromosomes, a number that has increased due to polyploidy. Wild potatoes: about 200 species

mostly diploid (2n = 2x = 24 chromosomes) triploid (3n = 3x = 36 chromosomestetraploid (2n = 4x = 48 chromosomes)pentaploid (2n = 5x = 60) hexaploid (2n = 6x = 72 chromosome).

Solanum tuberosum has 2n = 4x = 48 chromosomes Some capsicum species have 2n = 2x = 24 chromosomes

others have 2n = 2x = 26 chromosomesTomato, 2n = 2x = 24Tobacco, 2n = 4x = 48Eggplant, 2n = 2x = 24

TomatoEggplantChiliPotatoTobacco

Lycopersicon lycopersicum, belongs to the family Solanaceae and is related to brinjalherbaceous annual plant with bisexual flowersThe fruit is a true berryIt is a self-pollinated crop

in some cases as high as 30% cross-pollination has been reported.

Depending upon the growth habit, the tomato plants have been categorized into two

indeterminatedeterminate types

Indeterminate:The plant terminates in a vegetative budcan be harvested in in many times

Determinate:terminates in a flower-budis appropriately called 'self topping' or 'self pruning' typecan be harvested in 2-3 harvests.

Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida – DicotyledonsSubclass AsteridaeOrder Solanales

Family Solanaceae – Potato family Genus Solanum L. – nightshade

Species Solanum lycopersicum L. – garden tomato Variety Solanum lycopersicum L. var. lycopersicum

– garden tomato

Top Tomato Producers — 2008(in tonnes)

China 33 811 702United States 12 575 900Turkey 10 985 400India 10 260 600Italy 5 976 912World Total 129 649 883

Flavr Savr, a genetically modified tomato, was the first commercially grown genetically engineered food to be granted a license for human consumption

It was produced by the Californian company Calgene, and submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992

On May 17, 1994, the FDA completed its evaluation of the FlavrSavr tomato and the use of APH(3')II, concluding that the tomato "is as safe as tomatoes bred by conventional means" and "that the use of aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase II is safe for use as a processing aid in the development of new varieties of tomato, oilseed rape, and cotton intended for food use."

It was first sold in 1994, and was only available for a few years before production ceased in 1997Calgene made history, but mounting costs prevented the company from becoming profitable, and it was eventually acquired by Monsanto Company.

Circumstantial evidence available in the 1980s suggested that the tomato fruit enzyme polygalacturonase (PG), because of its ability to dissolve cell-wall pectin, was key to fruit softening Researchers at Calgene, Inc., in Davis, proposed to suppress PG accumulation in ripening tomatoes by introducing a reverse-orientation copy of the gene, an “antisense” copy designed to prevent or drastically reduce the formation of PG.

Their expectation was that ripe fruit would remain firm longer, perhaps even allowing it to be transported to market after vine-ripeningTransporting vine-ripened fruit would avoid the practice of picking green fruits and artificially ripening them by ethylene treatment, which gives a ripe tomato colour but not the full array of vine-ripened tomato flavours.

Native to Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida – DicotyledonsSubclass Asteridae

Order Solanales Family Solanaceae – Potato family

Genus Solanum L. – nightshade Species Solanum melongena L. – eggplant

Melongena ovata Mill.Solanum album NoronhaSolanum insanum L.Solanum longum Roxb.Solanum melanocarpum DunalSolanum melongenum St.-Lag.Solanum oviferum Salisb.

Top ten eggplant producers 11 June 2008

Country Production (tones)People's Republic of China 18 033 000India 8 450 200Egypt 1 000 000Turkey 791 190Indonesia 390 000Iraq 380 000Japan 375 000Italy 271 358Sudan 230 000United Kingdom 198 000World 32 072 972

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)Energy 102 kJ (24 kcal)Carbohydrates 5.7 gSugars 2.35 gDietary fiber 3.4 gFat 0.19 gProtein 1.01 gThiamine (Vit. B1) 0.039 mg (3%)Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.037 mg (2%)Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.649 mg (4%)Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.281 mg (6%)Vitamin B6 0.084 mg (6%)Folate (Vit. B9) 22 µg (6%)Vitamin C 2.2 mg (4%)Calcium 9 mg (1%)Iron 0.24 mg (2%)Magnesium 14 mg (4%)Phosphorus 25 mg (4%)Potassium 230 mg (5%)Zinc 0.16 mg (2%)Manganese 0.25 mg

Chili pepper (chilli, chilli pepper, chilli, chillie, chili, and chile) is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.Chili peppers originated in the Americas After the Columbian Exchange, many cultivars of chilipepper spread across the world, used in both food and medicine.

The plant is a perennial, but usually grown as an annual, with a densely branched stem. The plant reaches 0.5–1.5 m (20–60 in). Single white flowers bear the fruit which is green when unripe, changing principally to red, although some varieties may ripen to other colors including brown and purple.The green foliage is highlighted by purple veins and beautiful purple flowers. Sturdy plants grow 30-36" tall and produces 3-4" fruits similar in shape to a jalapeno, but black in color ripening to red.

Capsicum frutescens is a species of chili pepper important plant of Ethiopia

Capsicum chinense (syn. Capsicum sinense), commonly called "Yellow Lantern ChiliCapsicum chinense or "Chinese capsicum" is a misnomer since all capsica originate in the New World. Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727-1817), a Dutch botanist, erroneously named the species in 1776, because he believed that they originated in China.

Capsicum pubescens is a species of the genus Capsicum, which is found primarily in Central and South America. The name component pubescens means hairy, which refers to the hairy leaves of this pepper. As they reach a relatively advanced age and the lignified root quickly, and sometimes the name is familiar tree Chili. Of all the domesticated species of peppers this is the least widespread and systematically furthest away from all others. A very notable feature of this species is its ability to withstand cooler temperatures than other pepper plants.

The ají pepper, also known as Peruvian hot pepper, is a unique species of chili pepper, Capsicum baccatum, containing several different breeds.

To be continued