How about tricots?

tomatoguy · March 19, 2007

Let's see. This is season number 38 for me and number 10 for starting from seed. I never saw a tricot until last year. Now I have another one. Last year I had what was traded to me as Matchless Austin Strain in a tricot and a dicot version. According to Carolyn, this is really the Quarter Century variety. They were good small tomatoes, nothing to write home about. The tricot plant was maybe 30-35% larger with that much more production as well. This year I have a Gregory's Altai tricot. No side by side comparison since this will be the only GA I will grow. I love the GA taste but hate the splitting. Probably wouldn't grow it at all if it weren't a tricot. It was transplanted to my 20 gallon container yesterday.

I was wondering if it was just a fluke that suddenly I am getting tricots. Is anybody else getting tricots when they haven't before? Are some varieties more prone to being tricots? For those who grow a bunch of plants, what portion of your plants are tricots? I usually grow about 70 plants per year.

mater

Tomstrees · March 19, 2007

In all my years I got 1 tri-cot last year -
Was a Mortgage Lifter seedling:

I'm not far enough into my 2007 season to see if I get any more ...
But yeah - sounds like you get a lot of em !

~ Tom

WildLife · March 19, 2007

I got 2 Green Zebra last year.
Got 1 GZ this year (Same seed stock)
Got 1 Mortgage Lifter this year.

**tomatoaddict** · March 19, 2007

I got a Noire Charbonneuse tricot this year and I feel lucky!!!8)

redbrick · March 20, 2007

The last few years my Howard's Germans threw several tricots, but this year not a one. I never noticed any difference in vigor or production with them, though.

Tormato · March 21, 2007

I would guess that I average about one tricot for every 200 seedlings. It's the "quad"cots that are rare.

Gary

mresseguie · March 21, 2007

Hi.

I suspect I could just do a google search, but what the heck. What are tricots?

When I saw this heading, I thought it might have something to do with apricots. Hehehehe.

Michael

dice · March 21, 2007

I had a couple of seedlings last year
where both the cotyledons and the
first set of true leaves were triple
(from seeds of two different cultivars).

The plants reverted to normal diploid
habit at the second set of true leaves.

Spontaneous mutation?

(One died 3-4 weeks after transplanting
of some unidentified malady and was
replaced with a volunteer that did fine
all season in the same location, the other
one produced slightly larger fruit than other
plants of that cultivar that tasted just like
the fruit from the normal plants.)

I read somewhere that true triploid tomato
plants (3 sets of chromosomes instead of 2
throughout the plant's cells) often set no fruit
at all, and if they do the seeds are often sterile.
Quadruploid (4 sets of chromosomes) plants
would perhaps be more likely to produce seeds
that could be grown out to a stable OP new
cultivar.

(What if the quadruploid were crossed with
a diploid? Fertile triploid seeds?)

March 19, 2007	#1
tomatoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rockvale, TN Zone 7A Posts: 526	How about tricots? Let's see. This is season number 38 for me and number 10 for starting from seed. I never saw a tricot until last year. Now I have another one. Last year I had what was traded to me as Matchless Austin Strain in a tricot and a dicot version. According to Carolyn, this is really the Quarter Century variety. They were good small tomatoes, nothing to write home about. The tricot plant was maybe 30-35% larger with that much more production as well. This year I have a Gregory's Altai tricot. No side by side comparison since this will be the only GA I will grow. I love the GA taste but hate the splitting. Probably wouldn't grow it at all if it weren't a tricot. It was transplanted to my 20 gallon container yesterday. I was wondering if it was just a fluke that suddenly I am getting tricots. Is anybody else getting tricots when they haven't before? Are some varieties more prone to being tricots? For those who grow a bunch of plants, what portion of your plants are tricots? I usually grow about 70 plants per year. mater

March 19, 2007	#2
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	In all my years I got 1 tri-cot last year - Was a Mortgage Lifter seedling: I'm not far enough into my 2007 season to see if I get any more ... But yeah - sounds like you get a lot of em ! ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

March 19, 2007	#4
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	I got a Noire Charbonneuse tricot this year and I feel lucky!!!8) __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

March 20, 2007	#5
redbrick Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lebanon PA, zone 6 Posts: 45	The last few years my Howard's Germans threw several tricots, but this year not a one. I never noticed any difference in vigor or production with them, though. __________________ "Any man may count the seeds in an apple, yet who can know the apples in a seed?" --Chinese Proverb (paraphrased)

March 21, 2007	#7
mresseguie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 159	Hi. I suspect I could just do a google search, but what the heck. What are tricots? When I saw this heading, I thought it might have something to do with apricots. Hehehehe. Michael __________________ Learning to speak tomato! Got compost?

March 19, 2007	#3
WildLife Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Long Beach, Calif Posts: 144	I got 2 Green Zebra last year. Got 1 GZ this year (Same seed stock) Got 1 Mortgage Lifter this year.

March 21, 2007	#6
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,960	I would guess that I average about one tricot for every 200 seedlings. It's the "quad"cots that are rare. Gary

March 21, 2007	#8
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I had a couple of seedlings last year where both the cotyledons and the first set of true leaves were triple (from seeds of two different cultivars). The plants reverted to normal diploid habit at the second set of true leaves. Spontaneous mutation? (One died 3-4 weeks after transplanting of some unidentified malady and was replaced with a volunteer that did fine all season in the same location, the other one produced slightly larger fruit than other plants of that cultivar that tasted just like the fruit from the normal plants.) I read somewhere that true triploid tomato plants (3 sets of chromosomes instead of 2 throughout the plant's cells) often set no fruit at all, and if they do the seeds are often sterile. Quadruploid (4 sets of chromosomes) plants would perhaps be more likely to produce seeds that could be grown out to a stable OP new cultivar. (What if the quadruploid were crossed with a diploid? Fertile triploid seeds?) __________________ -- alias