Osmotic Pressure and Delicious Tomatoes.

[jonathanpassey]

Now I am being quite pretentious by starting this thread for two reasons:

1. I don't really understand Osmotic pressure. Nor am I a botanist. These are just things I vaguely remember from general ed courses years ago.

2. I have yet to ever harvest a delicious tomato that I grew myself (although my Italian Heirloom has a big one that is starting to look a little orangish green).

But, Here is my thought anyway:

In order to pull water out of the soil and pump it up into a tomato off the ground the dissolved solids in the solution at the top of the plant need to be concentrated enough so that the osmotic pressure is adequate to lift the water the vertical distance from the soil. (pressure in a fluid is entirely based on vertical distance)

So, the concentration of dissolved sugars (and etc.) must be higher the farther you get off the ground... Or the plant could never get the water up to those parts of the plant. And in order to get that water out of the vines and into the fruits the fruits would have to be as or more concentrated.

Guesses:

1. Tomatoes higher on the plant will be tastier than tomatoes lower on the plant. All other things being equal.
2. Trellising or caging or etc will improve the flavor of tomatoes since they will be farther from the ground.
3. Drier climates (lower humidity) will produce better tasting tomatoes. Since the plants will be unable to absorb water from the air and will have to rely solely on water from the soil.
4. The reason early tomatoes might taste more bland or watery than later tomatoes could be the combination of both increased vertical distance and reduced humidity later in the season.

Tell me what you think.

JP