All show, no go

[TZ-OH6]

This is the first truss on one of my lines from Lime Green Salad x Green Giant.
F3 -- Indet, PL, beefsteak, GWR-clear skin, SuperMultiflora. I also have a Dwarf version of this. I doubt that it will a set single fruit on this truss.


Possible names: Medusa?, Frankenflora?, any suggestions?

[sprtsguy76]

I like Frankenflora but it needs something else like Frankenflora'a Green. Anyway nice looking plant!

Damon

[travis]

Look closely next time out in garden. I'm sure you already have. Has that vine terminated with those blossom heads? I don't see any side shoots. Maybe the Frankenhead is blocking my view!

[TZ-OH6]

I have six plants going from that line and all are more or less the same. The first truss is huge and overshadows the growing tip next to it, it is not terminal though. If you look closely the "crotch" of the truss and stem is at the bottom of the picture with the stem coming up on the left front. There are no leaves coming off of that truss "trunk". The second truss is there on the main trunk but is almost normal size.

[maf]

Interesting, why do the flowers not set fruit easily? Any difference if you hand pollinate them with pollen from another variety?

I don't know if you have the same slang terms over there, but in the UK the appropriate name would be FrankenJaffa

[travis]

MAF, it's typical for Lime Green Salad to throw huge sprays of blossoms and then only set 10% or less of them. I suppose that trait has carried over in the cross. However, you bring up a thought. If you think the blossoms that don't set have anything to do with male sterility of some sort, I suppose you could cross pollinate them without emasculation and see if that's the case.

[TZ-OH6]

I think the problem is structural. Fruits are oblong beefsteaks so the flowers look like dandelions (most are deformed megablooms). I expect better luck with the second trusses, which tend to be nearly normal. The cross itself is very fertile/productive. I grew out a dozen large plants and 18 dwarfs last year and all of them but the one big multiflora (parent of this one) put out tons of fruit....unfortunately most were horrid spitters, but a few were pretty good.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by travis

MAF, it's typical for Lime Green Salad to throw huge sprays of blossoms and then only set 10% or less of them. I suppose that trait has carried over in the cross. However, you bring up a thought. If you think the blossoms that don't set have anything to do with male sterility of some sort, I suppose you could cross pollinate them without emasculation and see if that's the case.

Interesting thought Travis.

But I reminded of Riesentraube which also sends up hugh clusters of blossoms on one stem, maybe 2-300 some folks have counted, and only about 10% of those in a cluster will set fruits so if lucky about 30-40 fruits will set if you're lucky.

And I don't know if that's true with other multifloras such as Ildi and that Rose Quartz mulitflora one.

Male sterility? A trait of multiflora's?

I don't know.

[Tom Wagner]

True breeding multiflora's are best used to make hybrids. Breeding a multiflora to a normal plant type results in a high yielding plant. Saving the seed from such an F-1 will resort to reshuffling the genes to get more multiflora's.

Not a bad idea if you want the multiflora trait in a whole range of fruit and plant types.

I have found the multiflora trait good for making concentrated set hybrids. Once the vine is showing color on the fruits...simply pull or cut the vine off at the roots and shake the vine once and all the tomatoes tumble off. Simply pick up the good ones and ripen inside for a few days.

[delltraveller]

It certainly has a particular decorative quality, a sort of Hydra of Lerna thing going on...