shiny fruit

October 25, 2014

I've checked various lists of diseases, but can't find this one.

This can happen with any tomato, bought or home-grown.

Something happens to the inside of the tomato some time after it has been picked. There is no break in the skin, no fungus, no discolouration.

Instead, there is an area that looks a bit more shiny and a bit darker than the rest. There might be several such areas on one fruit. Eventually the whole fruit is like that. It feels a bit as though the inside might be liquid. I guess I should peel one to see what it looks like inside.

It will not taste good.

What causes this?

VC Scott · October 26, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDiane

I've checked various lists of diseases, but can't find this one.

This can happen with any tomato, bought or home-grown.

Something happens to the inside of the tomato some time after it has been picked. There is no break in the skin, no fungus, no discolouration.

Instead, there is an area that looks a bit more shiny and a bit darker than the rest. There might be several such areas on one fruit. Eventually the whole fruit is like that. It feels a bit as though the inside might be liquid. I guess I should peel one to see what it looks like inside.

It will not taste good.

What causes this?

Sounds like sunscald. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...UadxW5MbtA_CNZ

KarenO · October 26, 2014

Hi there,

There are many things which can cause problems with tomato fruit including many bacterial and fungal diseases as well as non pathogen related abnormalities like blossom end rot and sunscald as mentioned above. A photo would help as would opening the fruit to look at the inside.
Occasionally, and especially with grocery store tomatoes you can see a phenomenon called vivipary which is an abnormal condition where seeds begin to germinate inside the fruit.
Google images of tomato fruit disorders may help you identify what you are asking about.

KarenO

AlittleSalt · October 26, 2014

I was going to reply that it might be vivipary too. I have grown one tomato that did that, cut into it, and yes, it had seeds with plants growing from them inside the tomato. If you cut into it and this is happening - you might want to take pictures. Vivipary happens in 1-out-of-10,000 tomatoes.

October 25, 2014	#1
LDiane Guest Posts: n/a	shiny fruit I've checked various lists of diseases, but can't find this one. This can happen with any tomato, bought or home-grown. Something happens to the inside of the tomato some time after it has been picked. There is no break in the skin, no fungus, no discolouration. Instead, there is an area that looks a bit more shiny and a bit darker than the rest. There might be several such areas on one fruit. Eventually the whole fruit is like that. It feels a bit as though the inside might be liquid. I guess I should peel one to see what it looks like inside. It will not taste good. What causes this?

October 26, 2014	#3
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,928	Hi there, There are many things which can cause problems with tomato fruit including many bacterial and fungal diseases as well as non pathogen related abnormalities like blossom end rot and sunscald as mentioned above. A photo would help as would opening the fruit to look at the inside. Occasionally, and especially with grocery store tomatoes you can see a phenomenon called vivipary which is an abnormal condition where seeds begin to germinate inside the fruit. Google images of tomato fruit disorders may help you identify what you are asking about. KarenO

October 26, 2014	#4
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I was going to reply that it might be vivipary too. I have grown one tomato that did that, cut into it, and yes, it had seeds with plants growing from them inside the tomato. If you cut into it and this is happening - you might want to take pictures. Vivipary happens in 1-out-of-10,000 tomatoes.