BER ? & a ? for Tormato

[AlittleSalt]

Is it safe to save seeds from tomatoes with BER? Or should I toss them into the burning barrel?

Tormato, if you are reading this - these are from the Old Ivory Egg plant. It is growing both fruit that look like these and ones that look true to size and shape. Do you still want seeds from it?

[KarenO]

I think best to save seeds from normal fruits Robert.
KarenO

[AlittleSalt]

That's what I was thinking Karen.

[brownrexx]

If BER is caused by uneven watering or possibly a plant being unable to utilize calcium then why would the seeds be affected?

My guess would be that it would not effect the seeds but I am no seed saving expert. I am also wondering.

[KarenO]

normal seed formation, like the normal formation of the rest of the fruit, depends on normal balance of all nutrients. These fruits are deficient in a vital nutrient so while seed may be viable it is still always best to save seed from healthy fruit of healthy plants.
KarenO

[carolyn137]

I never save seeds from any fruit that has typical BER since the tissue where the BER shows gets rotted and yes, the end products of that can destroy seeds.

It's even worse if you cut open a fruit,no BER on the exterior, but the inside is black,that's called internal BER.

Carolyn

[AlittleSalt]

I saw internal BER in 2015 when it rained almost everyday for 7 weeks here. The tomatoes looked fine on the outside but as Carolyn wrote, inside was black. On some of the smaller varieties, the entire inside was black.

I put the ones I picked today in the burning barrel.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I saw internal BER in 2015 when it rained almost everyday for 7 weeks here. The tomatoes looked fine on the outside but as Carolyn wrote, inside was black. On some of the smaller varieties, the entire inside was black.

I put the ones I picked today in the burning barrel.

Robert,here is a link which explains both external BER AND internal BER,and it's a good read IMO.

http://www.yara.us/agriculture/crops...ossom-end-rot/

Carolyn

[Nematode]

There is no pathogen involved in BER it is a cultural disorder.

[KarenO]

fungus and bacteria easily enter these affected fruits through the abnormal tissues causing rot as Carolyn mentions. Calcium deficiency in the fruit tissues (which would presumably include the seeds) is the cause of the problem initially but such fruit are exposed and susceptible to a variety of outside pathogens.
It is always best practice to save seed only from healthy fruit from healthy plants. There is nothing to be gained from any other practice and much to potentially be lost.
Also, perpetuating the very undesirable characteristic of susceptibility to blossom end rot is a factor imo.
KarenO

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Nematode

There is no pathogen involved in BER it is a cultural disorder.

If someone said that I must have missed it since pathogens have nothing to do with BER.

Above I linked to an article about external and internal BER but there are many other variables that can induce BER as well,such as too hot,too windy,too dry, too wet and on and on.

So now I'm going to link to an article that Mike Dunton at Victory seeds asked me to write a few years back,which discusses those variables and much more as well.

http://www.webgrower.com/information/carolyn_ber.html

I didn't speak to those growing tomatoes in containers, which is different from growing inground.

If the mix in containers is mostly artificial then one has to be sure the pH is Ok for Ca++ uptake,which will be added and can do that right after seedlings are set out, then water in well so that the Ca++ gets to the roots.

Sadly, not much progress has been made on preventing BER, not just for home growers but also for large scale tomato growers where it's still a multi million dollar loss each year..


Hope the above helps,

Carolyn

[Nematode]

Hi Carolyn,
The original question was "is it safe to save seeds from BER tomatoes?" my information was intended to convey that there is no causative pathogen for BER and thus no contagion risk.

[Gardeneer]

I think, the original cause of BER is physiological' But once it is initiated it is some kind of bacterial rotting. Now will that rotting affect the seeds, is beyond me. Certain rotting happens in the wild and seeds survive. You might call that fermentation. But they call it rot : Rotten apple ??

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I think, the original cause of BER is physiological' But once it is initiated it is some kind of bacterial rotting. Now will that rotting affect the seeds, is beyond me. Certain rotting happens in the wild and seeds survive. You might call that fermentation. But they call it rot : Rotten apple ??

Yes, the original cause of BER is primarily physiological, but there are other variables also involved which is why I linked above to the article at Victory Seeds.

No bacteria involved.

Carolyn

[AlittleSalt]

I just cut into a tomato with what looks like it may be the beginning of internal BER. If it isn't, do any of you know what it could be? There is no sign of a puncture on the skin or any discoloration.