Potato leaves

[SpookyShoe]

Do many hybrids have potato leaves and is it true that potato leaves are more disease resistant?

Donna, Texas Gulf Coast

[KarenO]

Very few commercial hybrids have potato leaves, basically that is because the potato leaf is a recessive trait and so is not expressed in an F1 hybrid unless the hybrid is between stable PL varieties.
I personally like PL plants for the heavy leaf cover and also in my experience they are related to a depth of flavour I prefer.
Many of my favourite tomatoes have PL foliage
KarenO

[Ricky Shaw]

Brandy Boy and Chef's Choice Pink are the only two that come to mind for me. I love potato leaves in containers and my dry climate. Disease is not an enemy I encounter often, some mold on some varieties, pests and the elements are my bigger problem. I could go on about plant hydraulics and how I believe in general how they're more water and nutrient efficient in pots than regular leaf, but not a concern unless you're in containers.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by SpookyShoe

Do many hybrids have potato leaves and is it true that potato leaves are more disease resistant?

Donna, Texas Gulf Coast

Someone else will have to speak to the hybrids,but Yes,many times I've said that PL varieties are much more tolerant of foliage diseases, and that based on the fact that late in the season when almost all of my other varieties are down and out with foliage diseases,the PL ones are still standing,still ripening fruits.

The diseases I'm referring to are the following 4 most common ones where I've grown tomatoes

Early Blight and Septoria Leaf spot, both fungal,and Bacterial Speck and Spot, both bacterial.

Some agreed with me,others didn't. Mine were grown as sprawling at the time,in regular dirt in the large field I adopted after I move back East from Denver to the old family farm..

You might even remember that we had formed a group,you were part of that too, and one year there was a contest to see who first had ripe ones, the rest of you grew in warmer areas, so I got some gold ball Xmas ornaments and hung them on the plants.

So that's my opinion about that based on my own experiences.Given a choice between a variety that is RL,and its variant is PL,I prefer the PL variant.One example is Kellogg's Breakfast,RL,and the PL variant KBX. Another is Indian Stripe, thank you very much for that one, which is RL ,and its variant PL.

Carolyn

[NarnianGarden]

In my container garden, some PL varieties were way more vulnerable to mold. That might be a coinsidence and totally non-related to the leaf form, but I am a bit concerned now.

Usually there are a few PL plants I grow every year. This year at least Brandy Boy F1 will be among them. I hope the much-touted hybrid vigor will manifest itself and keep all mold at bay!

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

In my container garden, some PL varieties were way more vulnerable to mold. That might be a coinsidence and totally non-related to the leaf form, but I am a bit concerned now.

Usually there are a few PL plants I grow every year. This year at least Brandy Boy F1 will be among them. I hope the much-touted hybrid vigor will manifest itself and keep all mold at bay!

By mold do you mean the two fungal ones I mentioned above?

If so,hybrid vigor would not help,it could only help if a variety has genes for tolerance,there are a few that Dr.Randy Gardner has developed for Early Blight,which can appear early or late in the season, but so far,despite lots of efforts I don't know any that are tolerant to Septoria Leaf Spot.

Carolyn

[SpookyShoe]

Thanks for all the answers. I've seen lots of hybrid tomatoes over the years in big box nurseries, but didn't recall any with potato leaves. So when I was at Houston Garden Center (it's a chain of many stores), I had to pick up a plant labeled Matt's Pride. The tag had no info as to size, shape, or color of fruit....only that it matured in 60 days. The grower was Uncle Matt's Home Grown Tomato and there was no info about them on the web. Usually the tag will state if the tomato is a hybrid or heirloom, but this tag said nothing. Here's the plant.

[bower]

I would +1 what KarenO said about PL hybrids being rare.
There is no reason not to make a PL hybrid, if you stabilized two PL breeding lines, but for some reason that was not of interest to most or all the makers of hybrids. Inconsequential trait, I guess, and since it's recessive, one PL parent would make an RL hybrid anyway.

I have noticed that PL segregants from my crosses tend to be earlier than their siblings. (have seen this in several different PL lines).
I have grown PL's that were susceptible to molds (Chernomor comes to mind, which does better outdoors than in the humidity of the greenhouse). And I have grown PL's that were not susceptible to molds - Stupice, Moravsky Div are top of that list.

One thing I love about PL's is that they do the cutest things with their leaves, like cupping them over or around flowers and baby fruit when it's cold. RL's probably do too but it's not as obvious. Adorable!

[NarnianGarden]

Carolyn, I do not know the exact fungi attacking my garden. Based on what I saw in some pictures, grey mold may have been one of the culprits (it did not take long for my Grub's Mystery Green to fall... ). I had remembered what you had said about PL being stronger, but in my conditions potato leaf form seemed to have an opposite effect.
I still like potato leaf varieties, but will keep an eye on the plants for any signs of diseases.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by bower

I have noticed that PL segregants from my crosses tend to be earlier than their siblings. (have seen this in several different PL lines).
:

I have had very early PL versions of my crosses too, but this year it all changed. I did a back cross that blew everything away in my GH as far as early fruit set. (Cowlick's BW X Bloody Butcher) x (Bloody Butcher X Dester). I based the F1 cross on a RL since I have many PL of the same sorts. Long story short, I have a real winner if the fruit tastes good as the fruit that the seed came from.
You never know, until you try many varieties and many variations. I have many good PL, and many good RL, I am not sure if I can say one is better than the other, but many are different from each other? RL winners, Chapman, Crnkovic Yugoslavian, Delicious, Cherokee Purple, Bear Creek, etc, PL, BW, Rebel Yell, KBX, etc. Is one better than the other without a doubt, or very different and very good.

Great thread and thought provoking.

[SpookyShoe]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Someone else will have to speak to the hybrids,but Yes,many times I've said that PL varieties are much more tolerant of foliage diseases, and that based on the fact that late in the season when almost all of my other varieties are down and out with foliage diseases,the PL ones are still standing,still ripening fruits.

The diseases I'm referring to are the following 4 most common ones where I've grown tomatoes

Early Blight and Septoria Leaf spot, both fungal,and Bacterial Speck and Spot, both bacterial.

Some agreed with me,others didn't. Mine were grown as sprawling at the time,in regular dirt in the large field I adopted after I move back East from Denver to the old family farm..

You might even remember that we had formed a group,you were part of that too, and one year there was a contest to see who first had ripe ones, the rest of you grew in warmer areas, so I got some gold ball Xmas ornaments and hung them on the plants.

So that's my opinion about that based on my own experiences.Given a choice between a variety that is RL,and its variant is PL,I prefer the PL variant.One example is Kellogg's Breakfast,RL,and the PL variant KBX. Another is Indian Stripe, thank you very much for that one, which is RL ,and its variant PL.

Carolyn

Yes, I loved our group of Tomato Buds! Seemed like times were much simpler then

[Cole_Robbie]

A lot of my market customers don't recognize that a PL variety is a tomato plant, which is one reason larger companies might avoid making PL varieties.

[davidj]

I thought there would be no more frost and transplanted my tomato plants 1.5 weeks ago. While local weather forecast was saying that 5oC was going to be the minimal temperature sunday and monday morning, that was nothing to worry about... Sunday morning, I got up at 5 and and it was 1 oC on my thermometer... most of my tomato plants (about 80) were ok, but there was some frost on the mulch on my lowest row. Same thing this morning.

I just check my tomato plants on my lowest row. Some plants have minor frost damage to 1 or 2 leaves close to the ground/mulch, but 5 plants have heavy frost damage higher on the plants. All were potato leaves varieties (4 different varieties), and RL plants next to them (on each side) are OK. Only one PL variety in that row seems to be OK.

Is it possible that PL leaves are more susceptible to chilling damage ?

[slugworth]

the brandywine hybrids are PL,at least the ones I have.
Like brandy man and genuwine.