Black Mavr=Debarao Black

[lumierefrere]

As far as my inexpert tastebuds and eyes can tell, these are the same thing. Same shape, same color, same bland taste. I grew the Black Mavr (Brown Cherry) last year and it's supposed to be semi-determinate/whatever but it got huge and really pumped out the fruit. This seems ready to do the same at least in comparison with almost everything else languishing as though there was 3 months of good weather left.

[Andrey_BY]

Actually not all! De Barao black is always huge indeterminate tree-type mid-late variety. It shows very good tolerance to early and late blights as all De baraos and has a perfect shadow tolerance. It has rather thick-skinned fruits, but its taste not bland at all. I use them for canning mostly.
Black Mavr and Brown Cherry are not the same. Black Mavr has much shorter vines, plum shaped fruits are much deeper in dark colors and taste a little bit different. Usually it bears fruits much earlier than De Barao black (2 weeks earlier). Sweet + a little bit tarter if we can speak about tartness of black tomatoes :wink:

Black Mavr


De Barao black

[lumierefrere]

Hmmm. Since I got the seeds from you, perhaps they were mislabeled because both varieties look like the picture of the Black Mavr.

[Andrey_BY]

If both plants have the same tall vines, size and shape of fruits it could be either me mislabel things or you mixed seeds while starting them :wink:

[lumierefrere]

I didn't mix up the seeds on this end as the Black Mavr were separated with last year's varieties. And yes, the shape of the fruit is the same.

[Andrey_BY]

Dear Barb, I also never mix plants or seeds, but if you receive from me different seed packets you could easily mix them when you start seeds of both varieties in spring :wink:
Anyway I will definately send you them both in autumn when while our new seed trade

[lumierefrere]

Andrey, I did not mix the seeds because I started both varieties this year because that's not the case. I only grew out Debarao Black this year. Maybe there was cross pollination--I have no explanation for it. It's not very important, I really thought it was a case of somone along the line renaming a variety/same variety 2 names.

And thank you for your generous offer for more of these varieties but I am growing very unimpressed with all the blacks so I have to pass.

I will say that I do consider the Mazarini I got from you the best variety I've tried to date and it's one of 2 varieties actually on the way to producing a real crop this very difficult year.