Do potatoes have fruits and what are they called?

Gardeners growing potatoes have more than once noticed fruits on the bushes that appear closer to harvest. Because of their size and shape, some call them berries, while others call them tomatoes. Let's look at what it really is, why it grows and what type of fruit a potato has.

Botanical description of potato fruits

Potatoes belong to the Solanaceae family. The botanical name is tuberous nightshade (lat. Solánum tuberosum). This is a perennial herbaceous crop that is grown in one growing season.

The peculiarity of the culture is the formation of underground shoots (stolons) on which tubers develop. Potatoes are not a root crop, but a tuber - a thickened and shortened stem of the root system, which serves not only as a repository of nutrients for the plant and an important product for humans, but also as an organ of vegetative propagation.

From a botanical point of view, fruits are what is formed in place of a faded flower. Their formation is typical for all nightshade crops, including potatoes.

The fruit is a two-locular, multi-seeded dark green berry with a diameter of 2 cm, which is shaped like a tomato.

Characteristics:

• spherical or oval shape;
• elastic skin that protects the berry from mechanical damage and adverse environmental influences;
• soft juicy middle (in hot summers and with insufficient watering it can become thinner);
• the presence inside of seeds that breeders use to create new ones varieties.

As the fruits ripen, they acquire a white color and a pleasant strawberry aroma. One berry contains from 100 to 300 small flat seeds of light yellow color. Their size and number depend on the variety. The weight of 1000 seeds is approximately 0.5 g.

Although most gardeners use tuber propagation, experts recommend the seed option. It is quite troublesome, but more expedient: it allows you to inherit all the varietal characteristics of the mother plant, which does not happen with the vegetative method. Many diseases are transmitted through tubers, and if planting material has not been renewed for a long time, the crop gradually degenerates.

Do potatoes have fruits?

Potatoes bloom in June – July. Appear on the tops of the shoots flowers white, pink or light purple. After pollination, the ovary grows and fruits appear instead of flowers. Very often they do not have time to form, especially in the northern regions of the country, where climatic conditions are more severe.

There are other reasons for this phenomenon:

• buds and inflorescences were damaged by insects;
• early harvesting of new potatoes (immediately after flowering);
• insufficient amount of nutrients in the soil, which affected the full development of the crop;
• lack of proper care (soil cultivation and regular watering);
• Vegetable growers pick off flowers, believing that this helps increase the quantity and quality of tubers.

Potato fruits (berries) are very poisonous due to the alkaloid they contain - solanine, so they are prohibited from being consumed.

Interesting! When potatoes appeared in Europe, they used not the tubers for cooking, but the fruits, which turned out to be completely tasteless. Illiteracy of people has led to a large number of poisonings and deaths. Only over time did Europeans realize that it was not fruits that were suitable for food, but potatoes dug out of the ground.

Solanine is formed for protective purposes as a fungicidal and insecticidal substance if the plant is exposed to unfavorable conditions. It is found not only in berries, but also in other vegetative parts. During long-term storage in suitable conditions, the composition of vegetables changes little: if the temperature is too low or high and the room becomes light, the tubers will begin to turn green and germinate, synthesizing alkaloids.

When peeling potatoes, it is important to cut off the sprouts, green areas, skin and 7-10mm of pulp underneath. This is where the maximum concentration of toxic substances is observed.

It is recommended to be especially careful when handling green potatoes. This color due to chlorophyll appears when tubers are exposed to light and indicates an increase in solanine levels.

What are they called?

Popularly, potato fruits are called shellabolkas, bulbochkas, and tomatoes. They are used as a source of seeds and as medicinal raw materials.

The berries are collected at the end of July - beginning of August, before the tops dry out. They are placed in a dry, well-lit place (usually on a windowsill). The ripening period lasts approximately 2-3 months (until November - December), the completion of which is indicated by the softness of the fruit and increased aroma.

Further actions:

1. Cut the ripe berries into 2 parts.
2. Rub the pulp on a fine nylon sieve or cotton cloth.
3. Rinse together with the cloth under running water to remove all remaining pulp. Keep under water for no more than 2-3 minutes, otherwise seed material will begin to swell.
4. Place the seeds on a dry cloth and place in a cool, dark place to dry completely.
5. Before planting, store the grains in paper bags in a dark place.

Instead of buying expensive planting material every 5-7 years, you can get potatoes from seeds for free. Growing vegetable seedlings and then transplanting them into open ground will allow you to obtain the same variety, but more productive and resistant to diseases. This is no more difficult than growing seedlings of other nightshades.

Potato fruit type

Potatoes are not berries; they form flowers on them. These are the same fruits as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants: with thick skin, juicy pulp, and many seeds.

The berries look like small green balls with tiny seeds inside. Unlike tomatoes and peppers, you cannot eat them. Only tubers are edible.

Are potatoes a vegetable or not?

Based on the type of culinary processing, potatoes are classified as vegetables. family Solanaceae. However, for example, red tomatoes or purple eggplants are used as food, but potatoes cannot be eaten.

Are potatoes a root vegetable or not? No, since the embryo, main shoot and root participate in the formation of the latter, and tubers develop at the ends of the shoots of the rhizome.

The edible part of the crop develops underground. It accumulates in the cells starch, sugar and other substances necessary for the full growth of potatoes. The outside of the tuber is covered with a layer of cork fabric. On a smooth and dense surface, from 4 to 15 ocelli - axillary buds - are always visible.These are small black spots and scars from which shoots grow.

The skin of the tubers can be flaky, smooth or mesh depending on the variety. The thickness of the periderm (skin) changes under the influence of different weather conditions. It is influenced by the quality of the soil, the amount and types of fertilizing. For example, phosphorus fertilizers make the peel thicker, and potassium fertilizers make the skin thinner.

Conclusion

Potato fruits actually form on the plant, not underground. These are poisonous berries that form from flowers. They contain seeds that are used to plant new plants. Tubers used for food are classified by botanists as modified shoots.