White Currant and cross pollination

[gryffin]

I picked up a White Currant tomato plant at the farmers market this weekend. I was thinking about putting in a pot, but am now thinking of putting it in my main garden so that most of my garden maintenance is in one location.

I'm concerned about cross pollination since White Currant seems to be a true currant. I have several tomatoes that I want to save seed from, including some imoortant ones from the dwarf project.

Should I be concerned? I am thinking I will try to bag blossoms for some of the most important plants (though I have never done this before).

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by gryffin

I picked up a White Currant tomato plant at the farmers market this weekend. I was thinking about putting in a pot, but am now thinking of putting it in my main garden so that most of my garden maintenance is in one location.

I'm concerned about cross pollination since White Currant seems to be a true currant. I have several tomatoes that I want to save seed from, including some imoortant ones from the dwarf project.

Should I be concerned? I am thinking I will try to bag blossoms for some of the most important plants (though I have never done this before).

If it is a true currant variety, and sometimes that can be hard to determine, but both Baker Creek and Territorial have offered one, then if you read the thread here at Tville put up by Solanum, still on this first page, I discuused the fact that only about half of the currants are known to have exerted stigmas, but I imagine that those looked at were probably red ones.

So I'll say no more until you read the post I made in that thread. and then you can come back here to your own thread and ask away.

[gryffin]

Thanks for the hint to look on Solanum's thread.

It sounds like I'll probably be okay sticking the White Currant in my garden. What your tomato educated friend said to you makes sense to me. Physically, the exerted stigma should be much more accessible to receive pollen than a "normal" stigma. Therefore the seeds from the plant with exerted stigma would be more likely to be crossed than the seeds of the other plants. And there is still the question of whether or not my White Currant plant actually has exerted stigma. I'll ask the seller about the seed source next time I see her at the market.

Maybe the dwarf project would be interested in a cross with this currant- could be fun, though I know nothing about whether it would be genetically possible to breed a dwarf currant cross.

[Solanum315]

You should be able to cross them. I crossed Mexico Midget with German Queen. Perhaps debatable if MM is a true currant but it certainly has been done before with S. pimp x S. lycopersicon