Cracks in tomatoes?

[dld]

What causes a tomato to crack?

[PVP]

The insides growing faster than the outside? Like as the skin becomes less elastic but the interior continues to expand. That's what I suspect with regard to concentric (latitudinal) and radial (longitudinal) cracking.

Skin splitting, I would guess, is more a result of short term swelling like just after a heavy rainfall event when the fruit is full size and nearly full ripe and the interior swells in response to rapid water intake from the roots up through the live tissue and into the fruit. I imagine the skin can't hack it and bursts its jacket.

Bursting, like what is common with lots of cherries, I also attribute to continued water/sap infusion into the fruit after it has reached full size and near full ripe condition.

Also, much of all these forms of cracking or splitting apparently are tied to genetics. That is to say, some varieties have thicker skin. But then even some thinner skinned varieties seem crack resistant, so maybe there's a gene that functions to shut off the membrane in the calyx and stop the water/sap from swelling the fruit at a certain point in the ripening process.

Any tomato scientists out there? HELP!


Bill

[jcm05]

Don't know about you, but I can just look the worng way at sungold fruit and they will crack!