An introduction to Pepino (Solanum muricatum Aiton): Review

Abstract

Abstract-During the past few decades there has been renewed interest in pepino cultivation both in the Andean

Screening of pepino (Solanum muricatum) and wild relatives against four major tomato diseases threatening its expansion in the Mediterranean region

“…Pepino fruits are fleshy, typically of a golden yellow colour with purple stripes, and can be consumed as a fresh table fruit in the case of cultivars that have more aromatic and sweet fruits, or as a vegetable in salads, for cultivars with less sweet and more acid fruits (Rodríguez-Burruezo, Prohens, & Fita, 2011). Although pepino cultivation has been mainly restricted to the Andean region, in the last decades there has been a growing interest in several countries from the Mediterranean region, as well as in China, Japan, New Zealand, or the USA, in introducing pepino as a new vegetable crop (Gurung, Chakravarty, Chhetri, & Khawas, 2016;Herraiz et al, 2015a;Kim, Ishikawa, Yamada, Sato, & Shinohara, 2017;Rodríguez-Burruezo et al, 2011). However, the introduction of pepino in other countries outside its region of origin is threatened due to susceptibility to pests and diseases of tomato (Nuez Viñals & Ruiz Martínez, 1996), which is phylogenetically closely related to pepino (Herraiz et al, 2015a(Herraiz et al, , 2016aSärkinen, Bohs, Olmstead, & Knapp, 2013).…”