My first (unintentional) cross! Now what?

jenn_sc · July 13, 2007

Last year I grew Galina's and Matt's Wild Cherry next to each other. This year I'm growing out two MWC plants, or so I thought...

The two plants look the same, (low, spreading, thick bushy plants, regular leaf) and the size of the cherries are the same (small side) but one plant has the expected sweet, tangy red fruit, and one has extra sweet (almost sungold sweet) YELLOW fruit! I guess I have myself a cross, huh? I can't think of anything else that could have happened. If I mixed in some Galina's seed by accident, they should be potato leaf, right? And these cherries taste much sweeter than I remember Galina's tasting.

So what do I do now? Save seed for a growout next year? I guess I should warn the folks I sent seed to. Some people got seed at Tomatopalooza last year. And to add to the confusion, several people wondered if I had the "real" MWC or not, b/c mine were richer and had more bite than it has a reputation for.

These yellow cherries are good, but really sweet. I did let them get super-ripe though, b/c I thought they were just taking a long time to turn red! So less ripe ones might not be quite so sugary.

So what do I do now?

pooklette · July 13, 2007

I could be wrong here, but...

If your red MWC crossed with a yellow Galinas last year, I would've expected the resulting F1 to produce red fruits. The way I understood things, yellow flesh is recessive. So in the F1 generation, you would (in theory) still get red fruits. I wouldn't have expected a yellow fruit to appear until the F2s were grown out.

Are you absolutely positive that the Galinas didn't cross with something else nearby?

**Tom Wagner** · July 19, 2007

I have a few Galina X Cherry tomato crosses out this year. When they produce, maybe I'll post some photos. I know the hybrids are all regular leaf. I will look at the Galina X Texas Wild soon.

I am so used to folks claiming what an accidental hybrid is without knowing for sure...that I almost give up trying to go through the vicious cycle of questioning their beliefs and going through all possible scenarios. I am a purposeful breeder, therefore I rely on documented crosses in my work and play down accidental surprises. Sorry, just my habit.

Tom

jenn_sc · July 19, 2007

I'm not certain I have a cross, but I'm not sure what else it could be. The plant was from seed I saved last year. The only two cherries I grew were Galinas and MWC (side by side). Plus, Galinas was the only yellow variety I grew.

If I accidently mixed in some Galinas seeds, wouldn't the plant be potato leaf? It's not. It looks just like the MWC plant. I also don't remember Galinas tasting as sweet as these.

I really don't know much (anything!) about crosses...this was just an accident, if it is indeed a cross.

Jennifer

dice · July 19, 2007

Could be a mutation in a MWC seed, or that the
MWC seeds you had last year were already from
a cross with a yellow tomato, unbeknownst to
whomever traded them or sold them to you
(which would make this yea'rs MWC seeds
an F2 generation.)

July 13, 2007	#1
jenn_sc SPLATT™ Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Florence, SC Posts: 502	My first (unintentional) cross! Now what? Last year I grew Galina's and Matt's Wild Cherry next to each other. This year I'm growing out two MWC plants, or so I thought... The two plants look the same, (low, spreading, thick bushy plants, regular leaf) and the size of the cherries are the same (small side) but one plant has the expected sweet, tangy red fruit, and one has extra sweet (almost sungold sweet) YELLOW fruit! I guess I have myself a cross, huh? I can't think of anything else that could have happened. If I mixed in some Galina's seed by accident, they should be potato leaf, right? And these cherries taste much sweeter than I remember Galina's tasting. So what do I do now? Save seed for a growout next year? I guess I should warn the folks I sent seed to. Some people got seed at Tomatopalooza last year. And to add to the confusion, several people wondered if I had the "real" MWC or not, b/c mine were richer and had more bite than it has a reputation for. These yellow cherries are good, but really sweet. I did let them get super-ripe though, b/c I thought they were just taking a long time to turn red! So less ripe ones might not be quite so sugary. So what do I do now?

July 19, 2007	#5
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Could be a mutation in a MWC seed, or that the MWC seeds you had last year were already from a cross with a yellow tomato, unbeknownst to whomever traded them or sold them to you (which would make this yea'rs MWC seeds an F2 generation.) __________________ -- alias

July 13, 2007	#2
pooklette Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Zone 5 Posts: 262	I could be wrong here, but... If your red MWC crossed with a yellow Galinas last year, I would've expected the resulting F1 to produce red fruits. The way I understood things, yellow flesh is recessive. So in the F1 generation, you would (in theory) still get red fruits. I wouldn't have expected a yellow fruit to appear until the F2s were grown out. Are you absolutely positive that the Galinas didn't cross with something else nearby?

July 19, 2007	#3
Tom Wagner Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204 Posts: 1,157	I have a few Galina X Cherry tomato crosses out this year. When they produce, maybe I'll post some photos. I know the hybrids are all regular leaf. I will look at the Galina X Texas Wild soon. I am so used to folks claiming what an accidental hybrid is without knowing for sure...that I almost give up trying to go through the vicious cycle of questioning their beliefs and going through all possible scenarios. I am a purposeful breeder, therefore I rely on documented crosses in my work and play down accidental surprises. Sorry, just my habit. Tom