The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins tobacco, chili peppers, potato, and eggplant. The tomato is native to Central, South, and southern North America from Mexico to Peru. It is a perennial, often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual, typically reaching to 1–3 m (3 to 10 ft) in height, with a weak, woody stem that often vines over other plants.The leaves are 10–25 cm long, pinnate, with 5–9 leaflets, each leaflet up to 8 cm long, with a serrated margin; both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. The flowers are 1–2 cm across, yellow, with five pointed lobes on the corolla; they are borne in a cyme of 3–12 together. The word tomato derives from a word in the Nahuatl language, tomatl. The specific name, lycopersicum, means "wolf-peach" (compare the related species S. lycocarpum, whose scientific name means "wolf-fruit", common name "wolf-apple").

Friday, Coke's bid to acquire Mexican fruit juice company Jugos de Valle was turned down by the Mexican equivalent of the FTC. A precedent setting court ruling over the weekend sanctions Coca Cola for monopolistic practices in point of sale and marketing restrictions.

On Thursday, House conservatives criticized President Bush, accused the Senate of fouling the air, said prisoners rather than illegal farm workers should pick America's crops and denounced the use of Mexican flags by protesters in a vehement attack on legislation to liberalize U.S. immigration laws.

The day many California Hass avocado growers have dreaded is soon approaching. Starting Feb. 1, Mexican Hass avocados will be imported and sold year-round in California, Hawaii and Florida -- American states where the stone fruit is already produced.

Oregon farmers contend that the U.S. government's decision to place National Guard troops along the Mexican border is contributing to a shortage of workers to pick ripe fruit.