What traits would you breed into future OP varieties?

[dice]

Rugose foliage could produce more ATP per leaf than
non-rugose regular leaf or potato leaf foliage (greater
density of energy producing cells per leaf). If you
flattened out a rugose leaf, just how big would it be,
anyway? (This is only speculation, of course.)

There are other genetic factors involved in intensity of
flavor, though, for sure. We see plants of cultivars that
always have sparse foliage and pretty good production
where their intensity of flavor relative to other cultivars
seems completely unrelated to their relative foliage cover
per fruit. Some cultivars simply make more efficient use
of the sunlight and nutrients that they take in than
the average. The difference is in their internal molecular
machinery.

[travis]

I'm sure there are many factors influencing flavor.

I was just using a comparison of dwarf plants and determinate plants to speculate on one possibility - that of fruit to leaf ratio - which I still see as significantly higher on the fruit side than for most of what we see in the higher flavored late season indeterminates generally speaking.

So, I suppose when breeding dwarf varieties, I would input more known to be well flavored indeterminate types as has been done in the Project.

Another input for dwarf breeding would be disease resistance as my experience with dwarves has been they are very susceptible as a group to foliar disorders. Heat tolerance would be good to since many people grow dwarves in dark containers on hot patio slabs.

[Vince]

"Another input for dwarf breeding would be disease resistance as my experience with dwarves has been they are very susceptible as a group to foliar disorders."

Comment-The thing that makes Dwarf ideal for container gardening, their super compact size, may also provide an ideal breading ground for fungi and bacteria. What I mean is the foliage is SO dense on some of these varieties, that many leaves are buried in the canopy clumped together, which disrupts air circulation. It would be difficult to breed out this characteristic and retain the dwarf size. However-some of the hearts I am growing right non are small plants and don't have as dense foliage. When I notice foliar disease on the dwarfs it usually spreads from the inner canopy outward. That being said-I havn't had MORE disease issues with Dwarfs than non-dwarfs. But then again I live in sunny and DRY southern californa. If I was in the hot and humid south it may be a totally different story.

[Linda10]

To add to what Vince said, I also live in Southern California but near to the ocean. During May and June, many of my plants get foliage disease because of increased coastal morning fog and cool nights (and some cool days too!). The dwarfs are no more or less susceptible than the non-dwarfs at this time.

[dhrtx]

Originally Posted by tedln

Couldn't all the grow outs be done in a single large commercial type green house. The diseases can be introduced and the facility can be sterilized between grow outs. It would also allow climate control and multiple grow outs in a single year. That should cost less than moving the project to different environments.

Ted

That would be ideal if you had the resources/ facilities, but I was thinking of a cooperative amatuer project like the Dwarf project, in which seeds would be sent out to and back from different participants. This is probably why it would not be a good idea for me to have a greenhouse. Have you read the kids' book "If you give a mouse a cookie"...