hillbillypie
Breeder in Training
Tomato Growing Nutjob
Posts: 210
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Fluting
Mar 25, 2011 9:55:38 GMT -5
Post by hillbillypie on Mar 25, 2011 9:55:38 GMT -5
I was wondering about the genetics involved that gives the fruit shape of fluting like the Costoluto varieties and Zapotec, etc. Can anyone discuss?
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jcm05
Administrator
Posts: 1,685
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Fluting
Mar 25, 2011 11:32:45 GMT -5
Post by jcm05 on Mar 25, 2011 11:32:45 GMT -5
Fasciated is the way to go with this. Fasciation results from fusion of two or more ovaries(fruit) and this gives the large size in fasciated tomato varieties. I am not aware of any record winning tomatoes for large size that are not fasciated. You can get large size in non-fasciated types such as NC 84173, which is a parent in several of the Mountain series hybrids. Combining genes from very large fruited fasciated types with the genes in a large deep globe line such as NC 84173 might improve size even more but the breeder would need to end up with a fasciated type with the modifying genes for larger size incorporated from a line such as NC 84173 if this proved feasible.. This would be worth a try. Increasing size is,of course, closely related to cultural practices and making sure that the tomato flower is completely pollinated so that the fruit produces every seed possible. Since the fasciated types don't generally have the anther cone fused around the stigma, flowers of fasciated types often don't get completely pollinated over the whole surface of the stigma. Collecting pollen and really saturating the entire stigmatic surface can overcome this problem. Also limiting fruit set to the most fasciated flowers(most ovaries fused together) that have the most potential to develop huge fruit is also a key. I did this with Delicious one time trying to get a really large fruit to enter into a contest, but it was a miserable, wet, cloudy season and the best I could do was one fruit a little less than 4 lbs in weight. GOBmaters
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hillbillypie
Breeder in Training
Tomato Growing Nutjob
Posts: 210
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Fluting
Mar 26, 2011 10:01:49 GMT -5
Post by hillbillypie on Mar 26, 2011 10:01:49 GMT -5
Exactly the info I was interested in. Thanks.
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