Steve, the paste varieties are much more prone to BER than are non-pastes, but I'm the person who introduced Opalka so I've grown it longer than anyone and in some years, yes, it has BER, and in other years it doesn't.

I don't recall the BER with Opalka lasting longer than any other variety that had BER fruits, but surely this is going to vary from year to year depending on where someone is growing it and several other factors.

And since BER is induced primarily by environmental factors, not a lack of Ca++, that's just the way it is. ( smile)

Carolyn

Carolyn,
Thank you for the reply and thank you for writing your book. I got it last year and have enjoyed it immensely as an initial read and for much further reference. You helped me choose a few varieties that I am growing for the first time this year, Brandywine OTV, Cherokee Purple and the Opalka, that we have really been enjoying and will probably always have in the garden.

Steve

As a result of another thread here, I'm starting to believe my Opalka is not Opalka at all. That said, whatever it was, my first time growing it, it was susceptible to BER. In fairness, Romas I grew that same year did likewise, but the Roma outgrew the condition if I recall. This supports Carolyn's idea about paste varieties being more prone to BER.

Dr. Carolyn,

After I read what you said that a calcium deficiency was not the cause of BER I was surprised and decided to do an intenet search to see what was up because I figured you were totally wrong. After looking at about 15 different sites (90% were one university or other, or an extension of one state or other) I came upon this article by John Begeman at the University of Az.

What I come away with is this. 1. To some degree it depends on where you live. Here in the southwest, where I live, there is so little rain that a lack of calcium in the soil is not the problem. In fact, as Begeman says, the southwest has too much calcium - this is what makes our soil alkaline. I can't speak as to those who live in parts of the country where high percipitation could lead to a calcium dificiency in the soil. 2. Even though, we here in the southwest have too much calcium in the soil, inconsistent watering (environmental) disrupts the flow of calcium from the plant to the fruit causing BER.

So, it would appear that you are right that BER is a result of environmental factors; but it is the interference of calcium within the plant, caused by the environmental factors, that causes BER to form.

In the end it appears that not keeping up with the plant's need for water is the primary cause of BER. Either not increasing the amount of water when the environment gets hotter or backing off on the amount of water if the environment cools off - which results in a lower need for water by the plant.

In the end, you are right that BER can be controlled by manipulating environmental factors, but after all is said and done, BER is a physiological problem where the flow of calcium to the fruit is disrupted. So, it would appear that no matter where you live, in a local that has little precipitation or a lot, proper watering is the key to solving BER problems. Of course, I say this as a person who lives in the southwest where I can literally control how much water my plantts get, and I rarely have BER from first Toms to last.

I have included a link to Mr. Begeman's article.

The reason I kept looking for more innformation, even after 15 univerities in a row said the same thing, was that everyone just regergitated the same thing. No one was saying anything new. But Begeman's article put it in a way that seems to make the most sense to me. Even if the reason that I decided six years ago that improper watering was at the root of BER came to me anecdotally.

Happy Gardening,

Tom

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening Tips

Tom, had I decided to type more and go into WHY Ca++ is NOT the primary cause of BER I would have said pretty much what you quoted from that article.

First, the only time that lack of Ca++ can be a problem is if the soils where you garden have no Ca++, which is rare, and if your soil is very acidic which binds the Ca++ in the soil and that's rare as well/

The two variables most associated with BER are uneven delivery of water and growing in soils or mixes that have too much N or overfertilizing with same. Too rapid growth is a real stress for the plant.

But too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry are all known to be involved with BER induction.

And yes, the problem is maldistribution of Ca++ within the plant. Tissues from plants that had BER fruits were analyzed and there was plenty of Ca++ in the tissues.

Most up to date websites will tell you as you read and as I said above, but there are still some websites and books and magazine that seem to be totally unaware of all the research that's been done in the last 20 years or so.

BER is a huge multimillion dollar problem for the fruit and veggie industry b'c it affects tomatoes, peppers, squash, cauliflower and much more.

If there were a quick fix for preventing BER it would be known by now. And yet some folks still want to add eggshells and lime and whatever and say they prevented BER when in fact as plants get larger they can better handle the stresses that lead to BER and so it goes away naturally.

And there are few who add eggshells or lime to variety X and then not add it to the identical variety as a control to see if what they did really did work.

Carolyn