新奇事件簿 园艺公司培育番茄马铃薯（在线收听）

A horticultural company in the U.K. is marketing a revolutionary new plant that grows both tomatoes and potatoes. It is called the TomTato and yields up to 500 sweet, cherry-sized tomatoes and a healthy crop of white potatoes. Britain's Daily Mail newspaper joked you can now get ketchup and fries from the same plant. The company, Thompson and Morgan, began research into the possibility of grafting together tomato and potato plants over 15 years ago. Paul Hansord, horticultural director at the company, said the great thing about the plant is that it is not genetically modified in any way. He said he knew it was possible to graft the two plants together because they belong to the same plant species.

英国的一家园艺公司正在推销一种既能够长出西红柿又能够长出土豆的新品种。该品种名叫“TomTato”，一株“TomTato”可产500颗樱桃大小的西红柿和白色马铃薯。英国每日邮报开玩笑说薯条和沙司兼备。该公司名叫汤普森&摩根，公司从15年前就开始了对马铃薯和西红柿的嫁接研究。公司主管保罗·哈索德称该品种的伟大之处在于它并不是转基因产物。他说由于两种植物属于同一品种，所以它们之间的结合是非常有可能的。

Mr Hansord explained how the commercial concept developed. He said: "At the start, we thought it'd just be a novelty thing to do. But as the trials developed, we realised what we had produced was really high yield, had fantastic flavour and could be done commercially for the first time. The TomTato is being dubbed as "veg plot in a pot". Hansord said it can be grown inside or outside, in a large flower pot or in a bag. It is selling at around $25 on the company's website. Britain's Telegraph newspaper said: "'Double-crop' plants like the TomTato could be extremely useful in the future, as they help populations grow more food in smaller spaces."

哈索德向我们解释了它的商业发展。他认为：“起初，我们认为这只是新奇事物。但是当进入实验阶段时，我们发现我们研究的物种竟有如此高的产量，所以决定将其首次推向市场。“TomTato”也被称为“veg plot in a pot”。哈索德称这种品种能够在室内和室外，大花盆或是袋子中同时种植。在公司官网中，这种植物的售价为25美元。英国每日电讯报称：“像“TomTato”这样的双作植物将会非常有用，它的产量特别高，而且占地面积不大。