My seeds include Blush and Maglia Rosa for next year. I have not grown them yet, but plum like cherry type varieties do a bit better for me in terms of splitting.

also I have grown this year HHHS, from Baker creek, mouthful of name, Hssiao His Hung Shuh or something like that. It is yellow grape quite meaty for cherry. Super productive and does not split.

Having grown one heck of a lot of cherry varieties I'm of the opinion that almost all of them can split given the right circumstances, mainly weather.

So no way am I even going to try to list which varieties never split, b'c a given variety can split one year and then not the next year.

Lindalana mentioned Blush and Maglia Rose, both bred by Fred Hempel and I've grown both and what they have is a thicker cell wall so don't split as much as some others IMO and there are others that have thicker cell walls that usually don't split that much.

But no way can I remember those specific varieties b'c again, variety A splits in 1998 and doesn't in 1999, ( smile)

Carolyn

Sun Sugar is pretty much a non=splitting Sun Gold. Substituted it some years ago. There are many others with some degree of non splittting. Check out the Penn State Extension report on line. They have an excellent report from 2012

I have a simple solution for this problem:
SIMPLY PICK THEM EARLY if it is important to you., especially when it is going to be rainy.
However, this past season I had PEAR shaped varieties(Yellow and red) that I don't recall seeing a cracked one. Only over ripe round ones cracked.

Thank you for recommendations! I think, I can start drafting my next year cherry list.

I agree with seysonn, pick a bit early.
I found that the ripest ones had higher chances of splitting. When you look at 'em and think "it needs just a few more days", you should probably pick 'em at that moment.
I guess it depends on your taste (ripeness) preference, but they can be ripen on the kitchen table. To me, Tess' landrace currant tasted best when overripe (winey bitter-sweet mature fruit taste, but short lasting due to small size), I couldn't taste the difference from vine ripened vs table ripened.

The varieties you mention will split more readily than many others and the recommendations of picking a little early can help. I suggest a 2x/week regular picking roiutine. The suggestion to switch from SunGold to SunSugar is also something I highly recommend- Sunsugar will split too but not like SunGold and the taste is identical. There is an orange cherry I've tried called Torinjina that is even less prone to split but it lacks flavor. I have not seen any improvement in pear types although the suggestion to grape varieties is well noted. Since you want to stay with cherry varieties I will suggest a few varieties that seldom split for me under a regular picking routine. Favorita and Sakura are good red varieties; Sweet Treats is a pink variety that resists splitting well although it is the largest cherry I grow. Yellow Mini is also less prone to split than many others.

One other suggestion is to watch the weather and pick prior to a rain event or anything that will cause wet fruits.

" Sunsugar will split too but not like SunGold and the taste is identical. "

They did not taste identical to me, growing side by side in the same row this summer. Sunsugar was just very sweet, without the more fruity acid kick of SunGold. All my cherries split this summer, but with the irregular rain storms, there wasn't much that anyone could have done about it.

I'd have to agree with ddsack, Sunsugar and SunGold do not taste the same. SunGold has better flavor in my experience. However, we grow one we bred for market, Sugar Drop, which has the same flavor and aroma and doesn't split as easily. Even watering is the key, though the thicker skin of some types like Isis Candy helps.
Lee

I wonder, has anyone ever tried covering ripen fruits with a thin layer of plastic and then removing it after it rains? It's interesting to know if the rain hitting the plastic will still cause the tomatoes to split or not....

I thought it was water intake (from the ground) that causes splitting. If that is correct, a large umbrella would work (LOL).

Linda

The problem with any covering is that when it rains the humidity (dampness) is still causing fruits to split. I am growing all of my cherry varieties under plastic and I even use an inner dripless plastic layer but under high humidity conditions the fruits still get wet.

One thing I didn't mention earlier has to do with your picking manner. If you pick in such a way as to keep the fruit stem attached you will notice less splitting as a result and followup to picking. Picking may take a little longer since the tendency with cherry types is to grab a cluster at a time to speedup the picking process.

Yesterday was probably my last picking for the season and I was surprised at the late season yield as well as flavor of my cherry/grape varieties but all fruits were still wet at noon when I picked. Pouring each gallon picked over a cloth helped to dry the tomatoes and I didn't put more than 3 gallons in any carrier so the fruits would be allowed to dry more quickly. I pick out all visibly cracked fruits immediately and most often eat quite a few as I pick. Cracked fruits are just not marketable but I will continue to grow crack prone varieties, including SunGold, SunSugar, Black Cherry and even newer AAS winner Jasper (highly prone to cracking) b/c individual tastes varry and I have a great market for those varieties.

bmoser (above) has some good ideas. We also grow for market, and it helps to keep the stem on as well to pick a day or two earlier, especially if the forecast calls for rain. They're picked into baskets lined with dry paper towels.
Any 'splitters' that don't get eaten immediately are run through the dehydrator, and those dried ones are quite a treat.
Lee

Try the Juliet cherry tomato. Very prolific plant, indeterminate, and sweet non-splitting tomatoes. (Unless you get a four inch a day rainstorm.) They will last a week or two on the counter even if you pick them when they are red.

I second juliet.

Those that resist split, usually have thicker skin. They also have a long shelf life, because of that. Any and all the cherry varieties sold at commercial level share the above characteristic. During the off season I buy lots of Juliet type and cherry tomatoes. They have decent taste (much better than beefsteaks) and last on the counter for a long time. I have also grown some from store bough OP. They never cracked either.

So there is a trade off : thin skin cracks. YMMV.

BTW: cracking is not caused by the water intake from the plant. It is due to environmental condition. In other words, if you pick some before rain an keep them under rain, still they will crack.

Sey

If you can stand tomatoes with thick skin, they won't split easily. Purple Bumblebee had very thick skin the year that I grew it. Yellow Pear seemed impervious to splitting - too bad that it has no taste.

Linda

My go-to cherry is Black Cherry. It really tastes good to me, is a nice size, and seldom splits. Certainly the great tasting SunGold was a splitter for me in the past. I am trying Sunsugar this season....based on reviews.

I wanted to grow Juliet but could not get the seeds off the rack. By the time Bonnie shipped plants to HD, my space was all taken. I grew it once ( 10 years ago) It was was a work horse. Plus, the fruits were much bigger than grape or cherry.

I have grown yellow pear, super sweet 100, sungold and black cherry. not impressed by any of them, overall. This year I am growing Riesentraube.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of small tomatoes. Even I quit growing Bloody Butcher, Stupice and Matina.

Sey

Showing my age again but decades ago cherry tomatoes weren't even considered real tomatoes and no one grew them on purpose. :-)

Dave

Don't want to speculate your age Dave but my understanding is that 600 yrs. ago cherry tomatoes were the only types that existed.

I have to shake my head. I've been growing cherries for decades and NEVER have had a problem with splits. I can't even remember a single cherry tomato ever splitting. Before or after picking. Very ripe or not so ripe. What am I doing right? Don't tell me humidity does it. In my climate, the DP rarely gets below 70F in the summer. We get plenty of spring rain as well. I'm talking wet and hot. I've mainly done Sweet 100s, but occasionally try others. Splitting just has never been an issue for me.

Not quite that old Barrie. :-) But tomatoes were also once considered inedible if not poisonous. So my point was, it is interesting how tomato trends come and go.

Dan - some of the difference might be due to container growing (as so many seem to do) vs. in ground growing where it is much easier to maintain consistent moisture levels and the plants are less stressed. Just a thought.

Dave

Also, gypsum seems to help with the splitting and cracking. I forget where I got that (...my mom?) but I toss handfuls of the stuff in my tomato bed. I have never ever had a split or cracked tomato that I can think of (maybe in an unamended, uncared for bed once?) and some of my plants have stood in water ponds in clay soil thanks to rain. No problem, no splits or cracks, lots of available calcium.

I also pick when only partway ripe to beat the rats & birds, so that might be it too. Who knows. But, the gypsum & picking when half ripe thing works, they always taste excellent and no mealy or tasteless tomatoes.

Well, maybe that's the reason for me as well. My beds are over caliche limestone, so calcium deficiency is simply not an issue for me. Having said that, I just lost a tomato to my first-ever case of blossom end rot, which is usually blamed on calcium deficiency. Go figure.