Long Term Tomato Cloning?

Originally Posted by BettaPonic

I have no luck with cuttings, so I use water.

The kind of soil you use makes a lot of difference. The main thing I've had to guard against for cuttings in soil (other than damage from too much light) is damping off disease (which can also cause root rot). Be sure to use new soil. Keeping a 2700k CFL shining on your soil really helps to keep damping off away, or if your window sun is bright enough, that may do the trick. Potassium sulfate helps the plants to absorb water and be stronger. A small fan may help to keep damping off away, too. Also, keeping the soil line as high as possible helps to keep damping off away to some degree.

Some people say it's better to use new shoots (an inch or two long) for cuttings, but I've had the best results with 6 to 9" cuttings or so. They seem a lot less fragile and less likely to die. I haven't done a lot of cuttings with new shoots, but big tomato branches are easy to root fast with good success rates (almost 100%) as long as you avoid bright light the first two days, and protect them from damping off (and avoid giving them excess nitrogen, which could encourage root rot, burning, less water absorption, and so forth). Whether the end result in fruit production is better, worse, or the same, I can't say. I don't use hormone rooting powder. They usually start growing within 4 to 7 days of rooting them in soil, given the right conditions. I'm not sure at what point they have roots, but leaf growth is a good sign.

Keep in mind, what I did was entirely with indoor plants. Taking cuttings outdoors is a little different, but it can be done.

I think the fruit production from cuttings is possibly better with some varieties than others.

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by BettaPonic

Best wishes for the high tunnel. What are they growing in?

Thanks. I scoop my dirt from the places hay has rotted in the cow field. I have tried hydroponics before, but the soil I happen to have access to is hard to beat.

[BettaPonic]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Thanks. I scoop my dirt from the places hay has rotted in the cow field. I have tried hydroponics before, but the soil I happen to have access to is hard to beat.

What kind of hydroponics did you try? Good luck with the cows.

[BettaPonic]

Originally Posted by shule1

The kind of soil you use makes a lot of difference. The main thing I've had to guard against for cuttings in soil (other than damage from too much light) is damping off disease (which can also cause root rot). Be sure to use new soil. Keeping a 2700k CFL shining on your soil really helps to keep damping off away, or if your window sun is bright enough, that may do the trick. Potassium sulfate helps the plants to absorb water and be stronger. A small fan may help to keep damping off away, too. Also, keeping the soil line as high as possible helps to keep damping off away to some degree.

Some people say it's better to use new shoots (an inch or two long) for cuttings, but I've had the best results with 6 to 9" cuttings or so. They seem a lot less fragile and less likely to die. I haven't done a lot of cuttings with new shoots, but big tomato branches are easy to root fast with good success rates (almost 100%) as long as you avoid bright light the first two days, and protect them from damping off (and avoid giving them excess nitrogen, which could encourage root rot, burning, less water absorption, and so forth). Whether the end result in fruit production is better, worse, or the same, I can't say. I don't use hormone rooting powder. They usually start growing within 4 to 7 days of rooting them in soil, given the right conditions. I'm not sure at what point they have roots, but leaf growth is a good sign.

Keep in mind, what I did was entirely with indoor plants. Taking cuttings outdoors is a little different, but it can be done.

I think the fruit production from cuttings is possibly better with some varieties than others.

All my Lizzano are indoors. I am getting ready to plant one outdoors though. I tried to root cuttings in rockwool. I am glad I switched to air layering.

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by BettaPonic

What kind of hydroponics did you try? Good luck with the cows.

Thanks. I built a recirculating deep water culture setup. It worked, but I did not get a crop any earlier than the in-ground plants in the high tunnel.

[BettaPonic]

Cool, I personally love Coco, what is your favorite variety?

[Cole_Robbie]

If you mean favorite variety of tomato, I'm still working on it. I would be happy to get my list down to a few dozen favorites.

[BettaPonic]

Best of luck picking varieties you like.

[throwaway]

Does the taproot serve a significant function if the shallower roots can access enough water?

[kurt]

Originally Posted by BettaPonic

Has anyone cloned a Tomato plant for a few generations? By that I mean cloning clones and cloning them? I have one variety called Lizzano that I have cloned for a few generations. Anyone else do that?

These are photos of my Tomato. All of these are clones of clones from a plant planted exactly a year ago. They are in Coco Coir with Air pots. I use air layering to propagate them while attached to the plant.

I can see the prongs on the lamp of the Electrical cord.Hope we are using proper grounding cords and monitoring water splash ,maybe string up cord away from work area.Water splash from counters can move some crud onto delicate cuttings.
Safety always.
I have read Asia and beyond they have grafting methods,cloning regimens on a large scale in their commercial live plant nurserys/greenhouses.