DarJones: Thanks for the information. Your warning to me about Reimer Seeds (in another post) was right on the money. They were one of companies listing Manalucie as a hybrid. I've looked at their website in the past, and luckily I have never ordered seeds from them.
Carolyn: Thanks for your information. I found the seed at Sandhill, so I know where to buy it (if I decide to).
I was actually considering it as a potential rootstock. I'm thinking of experimenting with grafting 2 or 3 plants this year. From what I have read (and videos I have watched on grafting), it sounds like a first time grafter tends to lose a fairly high proportion of their grafted plants. Therefore, I thought I would just use a hybrid as my rootstock for my first attempt at grafting (before moving into commercial rootstocks). I am considering Big Beef or Juliet for the rootstock (Manalucie still might be an option. It has vigerous growth and good disease resistance).
In all honesty, disease usually isn't a huge problem here. Early blight is the biggest issue. I have never used a spray in the past, so if I just incorporated a spray program until the first fruit set, that would probably be all I need for the Early Blight. My plants always outgrow the disease.
I am curious though how a rootstock might impact a spindley tomato plant like a paste tomato (or even a heart; which I have never grown). I would like to see what impact, if any, a vigerous rootstock might have on this type of tomato plant. To my knowledge (the Internet searches I have conducted), paste varieties haven't been included in the research on grafting.
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