Is the newest black tomato variety genetically modified?

Black tomatoes come from excellent first-generation hybrid seeds of the indeterminate type introduced from abroad, and have the advantages of good taste, excellent coloring, high sugar content, good harvest uniformity, and strong disease resistance. Their nutritional value is also higher than that of ordinary tomatoes, and their market price is more expensive, but many people worry that black tomatoes are genetically modified. Let us take a look below and see whether black tomatoes are actually genetically modified!

Are black tomatoes genetically modified?

Black tomatoes are not genetically modified. Black tomatoes originated in South America and are a treasure of the tomato family, named for the fact that both the fruit color and the fruit itself are red-black. Their fruits are both medicinal and edible, have a rich fruity aroma, a sweet-and-sour taste, and high nutritional value, and are especially suitable for eating fresh. They also contain a large amount of lycopene and rich vitamin C and antioxidants, and have effects for women in nourishing yin and protecting the kidneys, whitening the skin, and reducing weight and slimming.

Differences between black tomatoes and tomatoes

1. Compared with ordinary tomato seedlings, black tomato seedlings have darker leaf color, which may be the expression of their genetic characteristics in the seedlings.

2. The black tomato series varieties have stronger cold resistance than ordinary tomatoes, which may be related to the cooler climate of their place of origin, especially the Russian series, which performs particularly obviously and is more suitable for development in low-cold regions.

3. The appearance and flesh of black tomatoes are both red-black, with dark brown black, light brown black, and red-black, among others. This is mainly related to the accumulation of a large amount of melanin in the fruit, and this is also the key reason why their medicinal effects are higher than those of ordinary tomatoes.

4. Black tomatoes have thinner skin and softer flesh, are more palatable, and are more suitable for the elderly and patients to eat.

5. The nutritional value and health benefits of black tomatoes have been internationally recognized, and they have the effects of nourishing yin and strengthening yang and preventing bodily aging, which is related to their relatively high content of antioxidants.

6. For black tomato cultivation techniques, using flat trellis pruning is more conducive to sugar accumulation, and this is the current development trend in developing and planting fruit-type functional fruit products. The fruits are more aromatic and richer than ordinary tomatoes and can be cultivated as a fruit tomato variety.

7. Black tomatoes have higher economic value. At present, they also appear in China's large city Shanghai as imports from abroad, but supermarket prices are extremely high, 36 to 45 yuan per jin, rising into the ranks of high-end fruits.

Methods for identifying genetically modified vegetables

1. Size: they do not have the uneven shapes of traditional vegetables, and generally have uniform size, large and long bodies, bright color, and fresh and tender texture. For example, soybeans should be shaped like the kidney organ of an animal, somewhat flat, with a waist line, but current soybeans are all round, like peas, and have very high yields.

2. Taste: they do not have the original authentic taste of traditional vegetables, and whether in smell or flavor before or after cooking, there is a clear difference from traditional vegetables. Traditional corn is generally yellow corn or white corn with a slight sweetness, while the currently popular sweet corn has a very high sweetness, as if honey had been added. Sweet corn kernels have less waxy surface, a tender texture, and some are also glutinous.

3. Yield: genetically modified vegetables generally have a considerably higher yield than traditional vegetables in the first few years.

4. Color: different from traditional colors, such as colored cotton, black rice peanuts, and purple sweet potatoes.

5. Pests: any vegetable that pests like to visit is not genetically modified, and any vegetable that pests fear, that is, one with no pests or very few pests, is absolutely genetically modified.

6. Season: non-local seasonal vegetables. One major characteristic of all kinds of vegetables is that they all have strong seasonality and regionality. Some non-local off-season vegetables are obtained by transferring cold-resistant or high-temperature-resistant genes, such as off-season winter jujubes.

7. Seed saving: genetically modified vegetables are generally very difficult to save seed from by oneself.