Seedless Tomatoes, High Productivity

These two issues: low productivity of tomatoes in lowland and problem in discarding tomatoes seeds for ketchup producers can be overcome with one innovation. Dr Saptowo Pardal, a researcher of Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development (BB Biogen) who is also an Agronomist alumni of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), assembled high productivity seedless tomatoes line to be grown in lowland. He inserted gen IAAM-DefH9 inside tomatoes cotyledon. IAAM is a gen of bacteria Pseudomonas cerivisiae that promotes parthenocarpy alias the induced production process of fruit without pollination and fertilization. Accordingly, seedless fruit are formed. Def H9 is a promoter gen that is taken from snapdragon Anthirrinum majus. (Sardi Duryatmo)