(Non)Resistance to fungus

jk · September 6, 2006

Every few years I try to grow tomatoes, and then vow never to try to grow them again. “Try” is the operant word here because usually I usually don’t get any fruit or the fruits don't mature because the plants are consumed by fungus. The only exception is cherry tomatoes. Well, the cycle has started again, and this time I have been slightly more successful than before. I live in Hawaii (translation: “Good weather, but not for tomatoes. Fungus everywhere”). This time I’m using a commercial potting mix in containers rather than planting in the ground, and I’m spraying with compost tea. So far the plants are growing slightly faster than the fungus is killing the leaves. And I actually have a few tomatoes, though they are still green.

I wonder what it is about the structure of the tomato plant that makes it so susceptible to fungus. And is it due to the hundreds of years of breeding? I might be wrong on this, but I think it’s likely that tomato species originated in the tropical jungles of South America where there was fungus was all over the place, so he original species must have been quite resistant to fungus. However, as the tomato was bred for European climates, resistance to fungus was not so important (not as much of it around in the Old World due to colder winters), and resistance may have been largely bred out. Furthermore, I wonder, what makes cherry tomatoes more resistant to fungus. Are they genetically more like the original species, so the resistance has not been bred out?

I ask the people on this forum who are much more informed than I to share their wisdom on this subject.

September 6, 2006	#1
jk Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 5	(Non)Resistance to fungus Every few years I try to grow tomatoes, and then vow never to try to grow them again. “Try” is the operant word here because usually I usually don’t get any fruit or the fruits don't mature because the plants are consumed by fungus. The only exception is cherry tomatoes. Well, the cycle has started again, and this time I have been slightly more successful than before. I live in Hawaii (translation: “Good weather, but not for tomatoes. Fungus everywhere”). This time I’m using a commercial potting mix in containers rather than planting in the ground, and I’m spraying with compost tea. So far the plants are growing slightly faster than the fungus is killing the leaves. And I actually have a few tomatoes, though they are still green. I wonder what it is about the structure of the tomato plant that makes it so susceptible to fungus. And is it due to the hundreds of years of breeding? I might be wrong on this, but I think it’s likely that tomato species originated in the tropical jungles of South America where there was fungus was all over the place, so he original species must have been quite resistant to fungus. However, as the tomato was bred for European climates, resistance to fungus was not so important (not as much of it around in the Old World due to colder winters), and resistance may have been largely bred out. Furthermore, I wonder, what makes cherry tomatoes more resistant to fungus. Are they genetically more like the original species, so the resistance has not been bred out? I ask the people on this forum who are much more informed than I to share their wisdom on this subject.