Brimato? Hybrid plant that gives both brinjal and tomatoes, made in Varanasi

Brimato started yeilding tomatoes and brinjal over 2 months after it was planted. (Image credit: https://icar.org.in/)

We’ve heard of “Pomato (potato + tomato)”. Now, there’s “Brimato. No, it’s not a dish with brinjal and tomato, but a single plant that gives both brinjal and tomatoes.

Scientists at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi have successfully developed the hybrid plant by grafting a brinjal and a tomato plant. The dual-grafted “Brimato” would be useful in urban and suburban areas where there are very little spaces for growing vegetables, the developers believe.

The process of grafting was done using brinjal seedlings that were 25 to 30 days old and tomato seedlings that were 22 to 25 days old, the agriculture research institute said on its website, describing the process of developing Brimato.

Brimato: An Innovative Technology to produce Brinjal and Tomato in the same plant through Grafting.#ICAR
Read More: https://t.co/FlrB68Q2O0 pic.twitter.com/PLiPBybvvM

— Indian Council of Agricultural Research. (@icarindia) October 6, 2021

After grafting, the seedlings were kept under a controlled atmospheric condition, where the temperature, humidity and light were kept at optimal levels for the first five to seven days. After this, they were placed in partial shade for another five to seven days.

The grafted plants were taken to the field 15 to 18 days after the grafting process. The scientists fed the plants with adequate fertiliser and took care to immediately remove shoots that grow below the grafting point on the plant.

Brinjal and tomatoes started fruiting in the plants two months to 70 days after the plants were rooted in the field, the institute said.

The original plants used for grafting were a hybrid variety of brinjal – Kashi Sandesh – and a hybrid variety of tomato, Kashi Aman., The two were successfully grafted into a brinjal rootstock.

Each Brimato plant can yield 2 to 3 kg of tomato and 3 to 4 kg brinjal, according to The Print.

The Varanasi agriculture scientists developed Brimato after a successful field demonstration of a grafted “Pomato” plant that yielded both potato and tomato.