Strange behaviour of Czech's excellent Yellow plant.

[michael johnson]

I have grown Czech's excellent yellow for the first time this year, and I understand that it is known to be from the Ben Q collection.

Whilst the plant produced lots of nice yellow tomatoes of very-very good flavour, all normal salad size tomatoes- except one particular branch which is producing fruit that are much large (2 to 3 times larger) and shaped like the german red strawberry variety slightly elongated and with a tapered point on the end, or simular to ( "Wes" ) or the like, and is still out there in the garden producing fruit regardless of cool weather.

This is one of the strangest mutations I have ever seen/ it might be a sport of some kind, I may well save a few seeds and see what develops -(if anything), or even a cutting and grow it on through the winter.

Tomatoes never stop amazing me with ther peculiar quirks now and again.

[mdvpc]

Michael-Glad to hear how this variety tastes-I have had seed for a couple of years, but have not grown it. I have stuck with Jaune Flamme instead. If you have grown JF, how do you compare the taste of it versus CEY?

[carolyn137]

except one particular branch which is producing fruit

Of what color?

Yes, you've said the shape is different but didn't mention the color.

What you're describing is called a somatic mutation where the mutation takes place in a plant cell and not in the DNA of the seed.

Depending on where that plant cell is when the DNA mutates different results can be seen.

I had one branch of Green Gage, normally with yellow fruit, give all red fruits.

I had one branch of Dix Doight de Naples, normally red, give one branch with differently shaped fruit.

Yellow Riesentraube was from ONE yellow fruit on one plant where the other fruits were normally red.

No need to take cuttings since both seed DNA and somatic DNA mutations are permanent heritable traits and just saving the seed from the differently shaped fruits or differently colored fruits will perpetuate what you're seeing.

Somatic mutations are less common than seed DNA mutations and this is also being discussed here in the thread started by PV on muation rates where I described some of the above as well.

[Tomstrees]

Michael -

Happened to me too ~
I had an Amish Paste plant,
that produced normal sized fruits, but on
one branch, I got a monster fruit !

I took pcitures of it on the vine while green
showing the other normal sized fruits :




Then sliced:




I saved seed to see if it happens again next year,
and sent out some seed for others to see
the results as well ~

Tom

[michael johnson]

The colour of the mutation is "yellow" exactly the same as the other tomatoes on the plant- I can say now, that altogether the 2006 season has been the strangest yet so far, with al sorts of strange happenings to plants and things. 8)

[michael johnson]

Mdvpc- Sorry I forgot to answer you question, actualy I did exactly the opposite to you.

I had the Jaune Flamme and the Czech's E. Y. and couldnt decide which to grow, in the end I decided to give the C.E.Y a try.

The flavour is quite strong and smooth and altogether a very nice tomato- for the normal round shaped ones that is- but havnt tried the odd shapped one as yet- they probably taste just the same.

I would say that C.E.Y is a better flavour than J.F and is not quite so sharp and tangy.

[mdvpc]

I think I will try next spring both side by side to see how they grow in the desert Southwest. JF is very good for me, not as good as Citron Compact, but I get more production out of JF.