Physalis cross question
 

I was considering a project of crossing [I]Physalis[/I], but I wondered which species can cross. Can [I]P. pruinosa[/I] cross with [I]P. alkekengi[/I], and can [I]P. alkekengi[/I] cross with [I]P. ixocarpa [/I](syn. [I]P. philadelphica[/I])?

[quote]I was considering a project of crossing [I]Physalis[/I], but I wondered which species can cross.
[I]Can Physalis[/I] [I]pruinosa[/I] cross with [I]P. alkekengi[/I], [I]P. alkekengi[/I] cross with [I]P. ixocarpa [/I](syn. [I]P. philadelphica[/I])?[/quote]Jeffery,

I am probably not the right person to address your questions, but allow me to preface some of the background of those species.

[FONT=Symbol]·[/FONT] [I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Physalis_pruinosa&action=edit"]Physalis pruinosa[/URL][/I] – [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strawberry_Groundcherry&action=edit"]Strawberry Groundcherry[/URL] aka Husk Tomato Cape Gooseberry, Ground Cherry


[I]P. alkekengi[/I] – Chinese Lantern, Bladder-cherry, Japanese Lantern, "[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter-cherry"]winter-cherry[/URL]",

[FONT=Symbol]·[/FONT] [I]Physalis philadelphica[/I] (= [I]P. ixocarpa[/I]) – [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatillo"]Tomatillo[/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis#_note-1"][2][/URL], Mexican Groundcherry, Jamberry, Mexican Tomato, [I]tomate de cáscara, tomate de fresadilla, tomate milpero, tomate verde

[/I]It may help to go to some hyperlinks for some updates on this subject:

[URL]http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/tomatillo.html[/URL]

[URL]http://www.seedtosupper.com/tomatillos.html[/URL]


According to Suzanne Ashworth's "Seed to Seed", "all of the species of Phylsalis are perfect and self-pollinating. Tomatillo, P. ixocarpa, will not cross with any other Physalis species,"

Tomatillos rarely cross-pollinate, so plant as many varieties as you like.



[B]My conclusions:
[/B][LIST][*][B]There is precious little breeding work done within the species let alone interspecific.
[/B][*][B] It is difficult to get basic cytogenetics info, (ploidy levels, etc).
[/B][*][B]Do the crossing yourself.
[/B][*][B]Having done that you may still not know if there are incompatibility issues or issues of your own incompetence. [/B]:wait:[*][B]Any positive results within a crossing regime should be a future topic.
[/B][*][B]I am of virtually little help.
[/B][*][B]I am not going to even try these potential hybrids.
[/B][/LIST]Tom Wagner

All right, then at least we know that tomatillos won't cross with anything else. So that part of the project is out.

[quote=Jeffery_Goss;80590]All right, then at least we know that tomatillos won't cross with anything else. So that part of the project is out.[/quote]

I'd suggest that you read the Purdue link that Tom gave above.

If you look below here on this page you'll find the Forum for Tomatillos and you'll see that I also posted that link.

What seems clear, although some might disagree ( see the Purdue link for self incompatibility) is that they are self infertile even though they have perfect blossoms.

But in the Purdue link look at the comments re other Physallis species being able to pollinate tomatillos.

Just curious, but what is your goal in trying such crosses?

To obtain something that is like a tomatillo, but a winter-hardy perennial.

I, Jeffery, have also oft thought of working on physalis, there are dozens of species, with varying form, growth habit and hardiness. My aim; to simply produce a cultivar that fruits more reliably outdoors in the UK. Preferably capable of overwintering as some ornamental garden species such as [I]P. alkekengido[/I] can. I have previously grown scores of [I]P. peruviana[/I] plants and then attempted to overwinter them, I had two plants that survived two winters. The top growth died of completely but regrowth occurred in spring from the stem base. I have maintained a seed stock from these plants, but the parents died off in their third winter.

I understand that research institutes have failed in the past to cross differnent physalis species, so perhaps I need to concentrate on selection and crossing lines within the same species. However physalis is not a major cash crop, so perhaps professional breeders have not invested much time.

It's a project on my list of to-dos, if I can squeeze it into my limited space, which is mostly earmarked for my tomato projects.

I wrote to Glenn Drowns and he thinks it is possible to perform the cross.