Baffled.

[frogsleap farm]

Last summer I picked up a tomato on the side of the road in Davis, CA (Old Davis Rd). It was one of many hundred that had fallen off a truck hauling processing tomatoes from field to processor. The fruit was firm, crimson in color, and with a rich tomato taste. I extracted seed and planted three F2 progeny this spring. Two plants gave typical paste type tomatoes on a determinate vine, one (and the one I crossed to) had larger fruit that appeared to never ripen. I finally picked the two crosses when they showed a very subtle blushing, and waited for them to turn color indoors. This morning, three weeks later, no additional fruit coloration - I sliced open fruit from both crosses.

Fruit is hard a rock, yellow color, faint hint of rose blush. To my surprise the locules were filled with a scarlet gel and mature seeds. I know that some of the newest processing hybrids have a delayed harvest feature - allowing a long harvest window for mature fruit. I'm wondering if this is like "rin", never ripens in the homozygous state, but enhanced shelf life of fully ripe when heterozygous. I'm confident I'll figure this out, but for now I'm baffled. Any ideas?