Thread: Virile Males?
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Old July 31, 2016   #2
carolyn137
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Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
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Originally Posted by M.SeanF. View Post
I just read a thread that described SunGold as a "generous pollen donor ". As a novice tomato breeder I would really like a list of varieties known to be good pollen donors. What has worked well for you?
I know no one has answered you and I'm not sure how to answer you either,since I haven't bred tomatoes and don't intend to, and am not sure what you mean when you refer to virile males.

What I can share with you after growing over about 4,000 tomato varieties is that if the pollen bearing stamens didn't have enough pollen that would fall to the female stigma,there would be no pollenization and no fruit development since self pollenization happens almost all the time.

The only other ways it can happen is by parthenocarpy,where fruits can form in the absence of direct pollination,or if there's been a mutation in the formation of the pollen or stamens or other male structures.

Carolyn
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