How not to cross tomatoes

TZ-OH6 · July 15, 2010

I got lazy last year and decided to simply coat Brandywine stigmas on open flowers with Black Krim pollen. I figured that I would just not use the few self pollinated PL plants that grew out.

Well, almost all of the seedlings were PL, and now that the 10 RL plants I grew are producing fruit some are red and some are pink so it looks like almost none of the Black Krim pollen got there in time. The scary part is that the nearest pink tomatoes were a long long ways away with many yellow skinned varieties inbetween.

Lesson learned

mjc · July 15, 2010

I'm guessing that your Brandy was the typical pink fruited kind?

The red and RL sounds like a Brandy and BK cross to me...sounds like it got the skin color and leaf from BK.

The pink and RL may be a Brandy and BK cross, too, but an odd one.

But it really is sounding like you crossed an F1 and an F1 and now have an F2...(or even one F1).

Are you 100% that both parents were pure?

travis · July 15, 2010

How exactly did you transfer the pollen? Did you happen to take a Black Krim open flower and use the flower itself for a brush on the Brandywine flower?

Vince · July 16, 2010

I wouldn't read to much into it. The cross probably took. I am still trying to figure out how a cross I made with Brad's Black heart (orange skin dominant) with a Purple dwarf (colorless skin recessive). Gave all F1 fruits with colorless skin. I know the cross took since we have hearts now. Chocolate hearts even reappeared in later generations. Strange stuff. However, I don't think I had different colored F1 plants before unless one of the parents was NOT true breeding. You'll have to grow out both reds and purples to see if darks emerge in both lines.

TZ-OH6 · July 16, 2010

Yes, the plants were stable lines, not F1. The pollen was collected by removing anthers from 10-20 flowers, drying over night, shaking pollen loose in container and coating the stigmas with it.

Bees are very active here and when I have grown out bee crosses in the past it was not uncommon to have multiple parents (cross pollen from several sources).

July 15, 2010	#1
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 847	How not to cross tomatoes I got lazy last year and decided to simply coat Brandywine stigmas on open flowers with Black Krim pollen. I figured that I would just not use the few self pollinated PL plants that grew out. Well, almost all of the seedlings were PL, and now that the 10 RL plants I grew are producing fruit some are red and some are pink so it looks like almost none of the Black Krim pollen got there in time. The scary part is that the nearest pink tomatoes were a long long ways away with many yellow skinned varieties inbetween. Lesson learned

July 16, 2010	#4
Vince Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 942	I wouldn't read to much into it. The cross probably took. I am still trying to figure out how a cross I made with Brad's Black heart (orange skin dominant) with a Purple dwarf (colorless skin recessive). Gave all F1 fruits with colorless skin. I know the cross took since we have hearts now. Chocolate hearts even reappeared in later generations. Strange stuff. However, I don't think I had different colored F1 plants before unless one of the parents was NOT true breeding. You'll have to grow out both reds and purples to see if darks emerge in both lines. __________________ Vince

July 15, 2010	#2
mjc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: WV Posts: 603	I'm guessing that your Brandy was the typical pink fruited kind? The red and RL sounds like a Brandy and BK cross to me...sounds like it got the skin color and leaf from BK. The pink and RL may be a Brandy and BK cross, too, but an odd one. But it really is sounding like you crossed an F1 and an F1 and now have an F2...(or even one F1). Are you 100% that both parents were pure?

July 15, 2010	#3
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	How exactly did you transfer the pollen? Did you happen to take a Black Krim open flower and use the flower itself for a brush on the Brandywine flower?