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Old December 16, 2012   #25
doublehelix
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Central Arkansas
Posts: 190
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As for anything from that Brandywine cross that is mentioned, I just don't think the genes are there for heat tolerance. Brandywine is one of the worst I have grown for flower bud abscission due to temperature extremes.


Genetics does not lie.

For the most part, there isn't much that can be done to get tomatoes to set fruit once the temps get over 93 degrees. From what I can tell, if a blossom is still at what I call the "half open stage" in the evening, then the pollen is going to clump before it opens. It seems that the blossoms that are just beginning to crack in the evening still set some fruit. I am assuming the pollination is occurring just around sunrise when the temps are lower but before the blossom completely opens.


Until something new comes along there are still a few tomatoes that can set some fruit in the heat. And by "heat", I mean what we experience in the South. Anyone living outside of Dixie can't imagine what we deal with in the summer.

I have had good luck with Bradley, Brown Plum, Red Global, Arkansas Traveler, Indian Stripe, New Zealand, Spitfire F1, Sungold F1, and Solar Set F1. None of these are bullet proof, but they are more likely to set fruit at higher temperatures and higher humidity.

Tomatoes that set fruit in the heat are my main focus.

I am seeing some promising results in my breeding experiments and currently have 11 groupings of breeding lines that are showing some fruit set above the 93 degree mark. Perhaps when I get something stable I can get you and a few others to trial them for me.
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