Michael Pollan Sport

Salsacharley · December 1, 2014

I was cleaning out one of my tomato beds today and as I was taking out a dead Michael Pollan plant I discovered two striking fruits.

One is a pretty standard Michael Pollan fruit, but it is striking because it has been freezing and thawing for over 3 weeks now.

The other is striking because it was on the same plant as the standard Michael Pollan fruit mentioned above. It has also been freezing and thawing for 3 weeks and it shows what one would expect under those conditions. It is obviously not a Michael Pollan fruit, but I have double confirmed it was on the same plant, just a different branch. There was another fruit on the same truss that was like it, but wasn't near ripe and was a pitiful soggy olive green.

I plan to save seeds from this to see what comes of it.

travis · December 1, 2014

What exactly constitute the mutation?

I've seen photos of Michael Pollan tomatoes with the distinctly pointed blossom end, and if left long enough to ripen, especially after undergoing repeated freezings and thawings, I don't think it requires a mutation to cause the deep amber coloration in a Green Zebra type tomato. Or is there something else I don't see?

Salsacharley · December 2, 2014

Both of these fruits came from the same plant. The one on the left is a beefsteak type that is 3 times larger than the standard Michael Pollan type fruits (on the right) that this plant produced. It actually has some red in it too. I wasn't so much taken by the color as the fact that a beefsteak fruit (actually 2 on one truss) came from a Michael Pollan plant. In my humble opinion the plant producing a beefsteak type akin to a Beauty King is a mutation worth noting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by travis

What exactly constitute the mutation?

I've seen photos of Michael Pollan tomatoes with the distinctly pointed blossom end, and if left long enough to ripen, especially after undergoing repeated freezings and thawings, I don't think it requires a mutation to cause the deep amber coloration in a Green Zebra type tomato. Or is there something else I don't see?

travis · December 2, 2014

Okay. As no scale was provided, and since the green tomato was represented as not fully developed, I made no assumption or drew no conclusion as to the size of the fruit. The shape obviously is distorted by deterioration. The color did not strike me as unexpected due also to deterioration. Only a grow-out of the seed will confirm a mutation, and only then if one assumes no accidental outcross.

maf · December 2, 2014

Judging by the extended blossom scar visible in the picture, this fruit was from a fasciated flower; it happens from time to time on non-beefsteak plants and will result in a multilocule fruit that is much wider than the norm for a given variety. Usually caused by environmental conditions (say, temperature) at the time the flower formed.

In fact, many of Brad Gates' varieties frequently express severely fasciated flowers, even including smaller fruited varieties like Haley's Purple Comet.

I would agree with travis about the color.

December 1, 2014	#2
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	What exactly constitute the mutation? I've seen photos of Michael Pollan tomatoes with the distinctly pointed blossom end, and if left long enough to ripen, especially after undergoing repeated freezings and thawings, I don't think it requires a mutation to cause the deep amber coloration in a Green Zebra type tomato. Or is there something else I don't see?

December 2, 2014	#4
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Okay. As no scale was provided, and since the green tomato was represented as not fully developed, I made no assumption or drew no conclusion as to the size of the fruit. The shape obviously is distorted by deterioration. The color did not strike me as unexpected due also to deterioration. Only a grow-out of the seed will confirm a mutation, and only then if one assumes no accidental outcross.

December 2, 2014	#5
maf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: England Posts: 512	Judging by the extended blossom scar visible in the picture, this fruit was from a fasciated flower; it happens from time to time on non-beefsteak plants and will result in a multilocule fruit that is much wider than the norm for a given variety. Usually caused by environmental conditions (say, temperature) at the time the flower formed. In fact, many of Brad Gates' varieties frequently express severely fasciated flowers, even including smaller fruited varieties like Haley's Purple Comet. I would agree with travis about the color.