Cross Pollination Questions

18 years ago

I will try to make a long story short-ish.

Last season, I planted what I though was a Gregori's Altais Pride, it turned out to be a saladette sized Red Cherry. It was very good, and I was a little sad that I had forgotten to save any seeds from it. So this Spring I was pretty excited when I found my very first tomato volunteer plant in the general area that the NOID Red Cherry had grown. I was even more excited when it started setting fruit, as they were the same size and shape and trussed up the same way that my NOID Cherry had last year.

But when they started rippening I noticed that they had dark green almost black shoulders...then after waiting a little longer for them to become uniform I decided to pick by the "how they feel" method. That is when I realised that all of them had dark shoulders(similar to unripe Black from Tula), even the little baby ones, and that the color was not really red but more of a brick to brown color.

So now I am wondering, is it possible that the NOID Red Cherry was pollinated by some of the Black from Tula pollen...or maybe even by the Green Zebra. And if so, how will I determine whether it was the BfT or GZ. I do find the flavor to have the same intense smoky/beefy salty flavor that the Black from Tula had, along with the sweetness of a cherry.

Well here are some pictures for you experts here to look at and tell me I am nuts thinking I have a good cross LOL(I saved seeds to try and grow more )!! The pictures may be too dark or too light...it is hard for me to judge because I have a dinosaur of a monitor(going on 10 years old LOL) and the kids tell me that things show up lighter on other monitors so I am unsure of the quality of my pictures.

I used a nice red Campari in the picture for comparison, and they weigh about 1 1/4 ounces. Also the gel around the seeds is greenish.

Well Thanks for looking and helping :)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

digdirt2
18 years ago
Hard to say with a volunteer. It could just as easily be a revert to parent stock. If you think they are worth it save some seed, grow them out next year and see how stable they are. ;)

Dave
sunnyk
Original Author
18 years ago
So I guess what you are saying is, the only way to find out what's up is to grow them out and see. I think I may just do that, as this turned out to be a really good tomato.
Related Professionals
Athens Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Augusta Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Louisville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Westminster Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Columbus Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Murrieta Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Forrest City Landscape Contractors · Raleigh Landscape Contractors · Dayton Landscape Contractors · Chattanooga Landscape Contractors · Bloomington Landscape Contractors · Marquette Landscape Contractors · Altoona Landscape Contractors · Quincy General Contractors · Newburyport General Contractors
digdirt2
18 years ago
Actually they look exactly like Black Cherry - both outside and inside. Any chance that is what your volunteer is? Have you grown them in the past?

Dave
sunnyk
Original Author
18 years ago
I have grown Black Cherry before, in pots on the other side of the yard. And yes the coloration inside is exactly the same as a Black Cherry,outside is more like Brown Berry, but let me add a picture with some perspective, as this tomato is close to golfball size, and Black Cherry is well, Bing cherry size.
Thanks for trying though I do really apopreciate it. Plus I understand how hard it is to determine by just pictures :)

Again , sorry about the cruddy pictures :(
jimm_sc
18 years ago
If you really like it, then grow out the saved seeds. If it really is the result of a cross, you could gets lots of different expressions. If you grow out enough of them, one of them will look like the tomato you like. Save seeds from that plant and repeat. Eventually you will have a stable open-pollinated new variety. You may discover additional variations that you also like. This can be fun and doesn't have to follow a rigid descipline. It's like choosing wine, drink what you like and the snobs can take a hike!
Have fun,
Jim
sunnyk
Original Author
18 years ago
I believe I am going to give it a shot ,I will plant a row of them next season and see what happens! This sounds like it could be interesting and like Jim says-I plan on having fun too.
wvtomatoman
18 years ago
You didn't give any history of the Gregori's seed. And, you didn't say how many plants you grew out last year and whether they were all the same or not. These details could help determine what is going on. With this few details it could have been incorrectly labeled seed/mixed up seed or an accidental cross. Let's assume accidental cross. There are examples of some really good tomatoes that have come from accidental crosses. So, if you've found something you like save seed and grow it out. Try to grow out several plants next year to check for variations. You might find something else really good.

I am continuing to assume accidental cross. You don't know what the parents are. Having green shoulders won't be of much help in identification because green shoulders is a dominant gene. BTW, notice how your comparison tomato has two locular cavities and your tomato is different? But that's not much help either really. AFAIK the only way to determine the parents would be through DNA testing. You're not a scientist or a millionaire are you? :-)

Good luck and have fun with it.

Randy
sunnyk
Original Author
18 years ago
Ok, first Gregori's was wrong, I checked back in my garden Journal and it was actually 'Sasha's Altais Pride' and from what I understand it is a Medium sized red round but not perfect round tomato, but out of the 3 I planted only 2 fit that description and they were late for me.The 1 that was not a medium sized roundish red grew to be a saladette sized tomato perfect and red and round. That is the one I believe left the volunteer because only the color came out different this year. The shape, size, trusses , growth and spot in the garden,is exactly the same as last years plant.

The red in the picture I clearly stated was just for reference ie:color , and I also said that it was a Campari NOT the red cherry that I believe is the parent of the Brown one in the picture. That parent was a plant from last season not this season so I couldnt put up a picture of it as it has been dead since last FALL :)

So as for mix up of seeds, that would have occured last season which would have been why I got a NOID large Red Cherry/Saladette instead of the Sasha....the cross I also believe occured last season , and this is the result of it.Of course apparently I could be wrong and the cross may have started with the person before me that I got the Sasha's seeds from...who knows ...I just thought that possibly one or both of the parents might show itself during a grow out...but what do I know, I truly am no scientist LOL!!

'No you will never know if its other parent is Green Zebra or Black fron Tula or any other tomato' seems to be where the answer to my original post is heading, ROTFLMBO
sunnyk
Original Author
18 years ago
And I thank you for the vote of Good Luck, and ultimately I am hoping that whan I grow it out next season I get a few that give me the same result, as I agree that is probably a cross.

Thanks :)
vegomatic
18 years ago
Save as many seeds as you can and keep them separate from any of the "original" seeds that it may have come from. Plant a few each season and sooner or later you may chance upon it again.

-Ed