The concept of grafting related potatoes and tomatoes so that both are produced on the same plant dates back to at least 1833. As with all grafts, this plant will not occur in nature and cannot be grown from seed, because the two parts of the plant remain genetically separate, and only rely on each other for nourishment and growth. As in most standard types of plant grafting, a small incision is made in the stem of each plant and they are strapped together. Once the cuts have healed and the plants are joined, the leafy top of the potato plant can be cut away and the roots of the tomato can be removed, leaving the leaves of the tomato plant to nourish the roots of the potato plant. The rootstock (potato) acts as a stable and healthy root system and the scions (tomato) are chosen for their fruit, flowers or leaves. The tomatoes should be ready to harvest after about 12 weeks during the summer months; the potatoes should be ready after the tomato leaves begin to die back, normally in early autumn. Grafting in this way can be used to produce many different related crops from the same plant, for example the increasingly popular
'fruit salad' tree, which is a single tree that produces multiple types of
citrus fruits, or a tree with a variety of
fruits with stones (peach, plum, etc.). The
somatic fusion of potato and tomato cells is also possible, though this plant cannot produce fertile seeds. The first such somatic hybrid was bred in 1978. ==Benefits==