Pepino (Solanum muricatum Ait.): A potential future crop for subtropics

Abstract

Pepino (Solanum muricatum) is an Andean region's crop, originated from South America. The crop has medicinal values and underutilized for its cultivation. It has a wider adaptability across the different locations of Spain, New Zealand, Turkey, Israel, USA, Japan etc. The crop can be grown under diverse soil and climatic conditions in India also. Its fruits are juicy, mild-sweet, sub-acidic and aromatic berry which are rich in antiglycative, antioxidant, dietary fibres and low calorific energy. Fruit is visually attractive with golden yellow colour with purple stripes. The crop was evaluated for its growth and development at ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Rehmankhera, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India (planted in the month of October, 2014). The results of the study exhibited its adaptation to climatic conditions of subtropics with higher yield and acceptable fruit quality.

Effects of light spectrum on the morphophysiology and gene expression of lateral branching in Pepino (Solanum muricatum)

“…Pepino originates from the Andes in South America and belongs to the genus Solanum (Solanum L.) in the Solanaceae family. Its lateral branches are clustered and germinate vigorously, which is closely related to relative species such as tomatoes and potatoes in phylogeny (Kumar et al, 2017). Wildtype tomato plants develop lateral shoots only after floral transition, and their growth follows an apical-basal pattern (Chaabouni et al, 2009), similar to Pepino.…”

Moderate and severe water stress effects on morphological and biochemical traits in a set of pepino (Solanum muricatum) cultivars

“…The pepino is a crop with a wide potential for expansion (Kumar et al, 2017b). However, many aspects related to the improvement of cultural practices and its tolerance to stresses, including drought, remain to be elucidated.…”

Physicochemical Characterization and Immunomodulatory Activity of a Novel Acid Polysaccharide from Solanum muricatum

“…Solanum muricatum, which belongs to the Solanaceae family, is an herbaceous plant originally cultivated in the Andean region of South America and has been disseminated throughout the world. It is commonly called pepino or melon pear and can be grown under diverse soil and climatic conditions [1,2]. The color of Solanum muricatum begins green and changes to golden yellow covered with purple stripes during the ripening period [3].…”