The Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has appealed to the government and other private organizations to support further studies into the prospects of the snake tomato plant in Ghana.
The snake tomato plant (Trichosanthes cucumerina) is a gourd vegetable that grows in tropical regions, and it is used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is a member of the cucumber family and is called by many names in different parts of the world. The snake tomato is packed with phytonutrients.
Dr. Michael Kwabena Osei, a Senior Research Scientist and a Vegetable Breeder at the CRI, speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after a field inspection of the trial plot at Kwadaso near Kumasi, underscored the need for agencies and the government to support the research into the plant.
He explained that Ghana could consume the vegetable as a substitute for the traditional tomato, adding that it had almost the same constituents as a tomato. "If we should wake up one day and find out that the tomatoes in the country are not able to survive, and we do not have other substitutes, it is going to be a problem. That is why as a Research Institute, we go ahead and research and diversify the crops we research on."
Read the complete article at www.newsghana.com.gh.