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Fusion_power · December 6, 2012

You are thinking of the ug gene. It causes fruit to be a uniform gray/green color. The advantage of this gene is that fruit ripen evenly and don't have green shoulders. The disadvantage is that fruit flavor is reduced. However, there is a LOT more to tomato flavor than just this gene. I will be deliberately selecting against this gene i.e. selecting for the standard type present in most heirlooms.

Re cracking and splitting, so far, I have not included any crack prone varieties. But I do have Burgess Crackproof which could be easily incorporated to eliminate this problem if it occurs. I would also point out that Druzba and Eva Purple Ball rarely crack or split. This also brings up the question of whether thin skin or thick skin is to be selected for. I would prefer to be intermediate, not too thick, not too thin.

Fruit size is also important, if I were selecting for large fruit with the fasciated gene, then catfacing and deformed fruit would become a problem. Since I am targeting a round fruit in the 2.5 to 3.5 inch range, I won't have to worry about this problem.

DarJones

December 6, 2012	#53
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	You are thinking of the ug gene. It causes fruit to be a uniform gray/green color. The advantage of this gene is that fruit ripen evenly and don't have green shoulders. The disadvantage is that fruit flavor is reduced. However, there is a LOT more to tomato flavor than just this gene. I will be deliberately selecting against this gene i.e. selecting for the standard type present in most heirlooms. Re cracking and splitting, so far, I have not included any crack prone varieties. But I do have Burgess Crackproof which could be easily incorporated to eliminate this problem if it occurs. I would also point out that Druzba and Eva Purple Ball rarely crack or split. This also brings up the question of whether thin skin or thick skin is to be selected for. I would prefer to be intermediate, not too thick, not too thin. Fruit size is also important, if I were selecting for large fruit with the fasciated gene, then catfacing and deformed fruit would become a problem. Since I am targeting a round fruit in the 2.5 to 3.5 inch range, I won't have to worry about this problem. DarJones Last edited by Fusion_power; December 6, 2012 at 06:42 PM.