Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
HARVEST Harvest seed from at least six to 12 plants to maximize the genetic diversity passed along to
the next generation. Ideally, you will observe the plant over the entire growing season and identify
fruits from which you will harvest seed while they are still on the plant. If seeds are instead saved by
just putting a few off to the side when processing tomatoes, you will no longer be selecting for certain
growth traits of the plant itself.
Harvest fruits from the first or second panicles from the plants you have selected. Taste them and
save seeds from the best-tasting ones. Plants may look slightly different from one another due to cross-
ing and (much rarer) mutations. You may find it fun and exciting to save seed from unexpected-look-
ing plants and fruits and develop a new variety.
Generally speaking, do not harvest seed from any sick plant (lest the trait “prone to disease” be se-
lected for), but exceptions can and should be made when, for example, the variety is otherwise un-
available or has long since proven itself in the garden.
Fruits harvested for seed must be of full eating ripeness but not moldy. If the growing season is too
short to fully ripen tomatoes (as is sometimes the case at high altitudes or in maritime climates), har-
vest fruits and put them in a warm place like a windowsill or greenhouse. Tomato seeds are processed
wet by fermenting them. Seeds in the fruit are surrounded by a gelatinous sac, which helps prevent
ripe seeds from germinating in watery fruits. Fermentation dissolves this germination-inhibiting layer
(for details, see “Wet Processing with Fermentation”):
• small quantities: slice fruits in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon or squeeze into a glass jar; add
some water and a pinch of sugar
• large quantities and cocktail or wild tomatoes: slice fruits in half and place in a bucket or large glass
jar; puree with a hand-held blender and add some water
Not all tomato varieties yield red fruits. These fruits are ripe, even though they are white ('White Beauty') and greenish yel-
low ('Green Zebra').
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
• plant: healthy, early ripening (or, for better-storing varieties, late ripening), uniform, compact, flori-
ferous, true-to-type growth habit (determinate: plants reach a fixed height; indeterminate: no limits to
growth), minimal tendency to form suckers
• fruits: flavor, burst-resistant skin, true-to-type shape, true-to-type traits (flesh color, skin color)
DISEASES AND PESTS The most common disease of outdoor-grown tomatoes is late blight, Phytoph-
thora infestans . This fungal disease, which affects fruits and leaves, can turn into a real plague in hot,
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