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Post by johno on Jan 20, 2008 22:07:29 GMT -5
Flavor is the holy grail in breeding tomatoes, in my mind. I know from first hand (mouth?) experience that Alan's done a great job with Mer de Nomes, and I know Kieth, Tom, Bill and others have had great success in this endeavor. Ambrosiatic flavor is useless if you can't get a ripe fruit. Tomato disease is a real problem where I garden, and elsewhere. So I looked in my TGS catalog ( www.tomatogrowers.com ) for the (hybrid) tomatoes with the widest range of disease resistance: Bush Celebrity VFFNTA Celebrity VFFNTA Jetsetter VFFNTA Big Beef VFFNTA Keepsake VFFNTA Cabernet VFFNTA ...and also the tomatoes that Tom (in a thread he started at Tomatoville) listed as having Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus resistance (also available in the TGS catalog:) Health Kick VFFA Sweet Cluster VFNT BHN 444 VFF BHN 640 VFFF Tom says tomatoes with TSWV resistance generally aren't know for great flavor. I haven't tried these, but I believe him.  Resistance codes: V= verticillium wilt F= fusarium wilt N= nematodes T= tobacco mosaic virus A= alternaria Anyway, just thought these tomatoes might make good bedfellows for some really flavorful heirlooms in breeding experiments. Tom, Kieth, Alan, Bill, anybody... comments? |
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jan 20, 2008 23:22:35 GMT -5
Cabernet, Is that what I should be using to make Tomato Wine?? You asked if anyone had comments?  |
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Post by PapaVic on Jan 20, 2008 23:53:46 GMT -5
Johno,
I think that if everything goes this summer as discussed this winter, by fall we should have some F1 seeds from flavorful, indeterminate, heritage seed parents crossed with VFFNTAStTSWV pollen parents. That would be only the first step, and I'd prefer someone like Tom, Keith or Darrel to explain where to go from there.
Bill
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Post by kctomato on Jan 20, 2008 23:54:48 GMT -5
Cabernet, Is that what I should be using to make Tomato Wine?? You asked if anyone had comments? check her for blonde hair Johno Johno they might. Just remember that the goal for TSWV so far has been with commercial field tomatoes where the emphasis is not so much flavor. Also there does seem to be some negeative genetic drag from the original source lines for resistance. Keep in mind one doesnt necessarily need every kind of resistance always. There are commercial breeders out there crossing heirlooms with other more disease resistance lines. Whether those make it to market or not will just have to wait to see. Sophya is one already released that is intermediate for TSWV and based on an heirloom. |
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Post by johno on Jan 21, 2008 12:36:07 GMT -5
I already checked - she's a redhead, like me...
Wendy, they do make tomato wine. I forget which varieties I've read about that have been used?.. Giant Belgium comes to mind, but surely there have been more than one. I don't know, maybe Cabernet would be a good choice as well?..
Thanks Bill and Kieth for the comments and info! I look forward to the new developments.
"Keep in mind one doesnt necessarily need every kind of resistance always." [Kieth]
That's true. The problem for me is, I have had much difficulty diagnosing what exactly was the disease at hand. I've used all the diagnostic sites I could find, especially those supplied at Tomatoland and Tomatoville, and it seems my tomatoes had at once all of them and none of them. I would almost say the problem was Nitrogen deficiency, except that the color was usually good, where it wasn't yellow or brown... On the other hand, the soil test from my garden calls for LOTS of Nitrogen in '08 - I'm just afraid of giving the tomatoes too much of it. The point is, I was thinking of a shotgun approach regarding multiple resistances.
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Post by bunkie on Jan 21, 2008 13:16:16 GMT -5
....Wendy, they do make tomato wine. I forget which varieties I've read about that have been used?.. Giant Belgium comes to mind, but surely there have been more than one. I don't know, maybe Cabernet would be a good choice as well?..... i made Tomato Wine many years ago. not a favorite, but not bad. i used only red tomatoes from the garden no matter what type. i still have the recipe if anyone wants it. very simple with a bucket, no fancy stuff! think i might try a batch this year with some purple toms! |
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Post by canadamike on Jan 21, 2008 17:46:04 GMT -5
Looks like a good time to try alfala meal Johno. Tomatoes love it and it desintegrates over time, like some form of slow release fertilizer. The growth hormones are a huge bonus.
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Post by Alan on Jan 24, 2008 0:44:25 GMT -5
I'm really glad to see the board carrying on these kind of conversations as I feel for the future of self-sustainable agriculture these conversations are among the most important, that is those that occur between independent, backyard plant breeders.
I can't tell you much about disease resistance in tomatoes, mostly because I don't have the scientific lexicon to do so or the background to do so, plus my plant breeding is based more on trial and error and is a bit more ad-hoc than the commonly thought of plant breeders of land grant university status, which I will never be.
My plant breeding roots are planted firmly in observation and guesstimating, much along the lines of farmers-breeders from lines of indigenous peoples, particularly those interested in chance and wild card probabilities.
Having said that however, I do love reading about all of this and can follow to the best of my ability and am very proud to own a forum which promotes this kind of important work to wards the future of the home gardener and market farmer.
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