Ovule/seed question?

[lubadub]

Does anyone know whether or not in a given variety does every tomato begin with the same potential to produce seeds? ie. Does each beginning tomato in a given variety start out with the same number of ovules? I have been unable to find the answer.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by lubadub

Does anyone know whether or not in a given variety does every tomato begin with the same potential to produce seeds? ie. Does each beginning tomato in a given variety start out with the same number of ovules? I have been unable to find the answer.

Marv, I don't have the time to go Googling,but I can give you my impression on this issue.

Each ovule that is sucessfully fertilized gives rise to one seed.

There are the cherry tomatoes where most of them are quite seedly,ergo,lots of ovules.

Then there are the paste tomatoes that usually have few seeds,ergo,less ovules. Same for most hearts.

Then there are the beefsteaks,most of which are kind of in between, depending on the specific variety if you will ,but less seedy than the cherrys.

Makes sense at least to me.

Carolyn

[lubadub]

Thanks Carolyn. My next question is, What percentage of the ovules in the ovary need to be fertilized in order for the tomato blossom to set so that a tomato is actually produced?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by lubadub

Thanks Carolyn. My next question is, What percentage of the ovules in the ovary need to be fertilized in order for the tomato blossom to set so that a tomato is actually produced?

Marv, you essentially asked the same question a few days ago int his thread

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=42137

You'll notice that I didn't participate in that thread.

I know of the relationship between ovules fertilized and fruit size and back on the AOL tomato Forum there were some commercial bee keepers who rented out their hives to many places,greenhouses, and even orchards here in the north, but it would take me a lot of Googling,I think,to see if they ever mentioned any relationship that you are looking for.

But that's where I learned the difference between the words pollenization(self) and pollination (cross),and that's where I learned that if not all ovules are pollenized that it's been found that there can be up to 4 pollinations,aka cross, inside a single ovule fuit.

Maybe the answer is here?

https://www.google.com/#q=percentage...et+fruit&hl=en

Carolyn, and don't forget parthenocarpy either. And while I'm at it,don't forget male steriles for those who breed tomatoes,that's male sterile tomatoes,not the breeders.

[lubadub]

Yes Carolyn. The questions I really have are basically: 1. In a given tomato variety does each ovary have the same number of ovules? 2. What percentage of the ovules in an ovary have to be fertilized in order for a tomato to develop? 3. If all of the ovules are not fertilized will the resulting tomato, if one develops, be smaller than the usual tomato from a completely fertilized ovary? These are the basic questions I have and it looks like the answers are not as straight forward and as simple as I would like them to be.

[carolyn137]

These are the basic questions I have and it looks like the answers are not as straight forward and as simple as I would like them to be.

$$$$$$

Tell me about it Marv,that's life,meaning always those pesky unanswered questions.

Carolyn

[Gardeneer]

The best visual example that I can think of is corn.
Every single silk, if/when pollinated, will produce one kernel. It is not possible to see this in any other plants that I know of.
So in the corn, you can get partial pollination and still should have an ear of corn, though not fully full. The higher the number of pollinated silks, the bigger the ear of corn.
The difference between tomato and corn is that in the latter we are interested in the seeds (as product, to eat) but in the first we care less about seeds.
Is there a co relation between the size of tomato and number of seeds ? My answer is NO. I tiny cherry can cave more seeds than a pounder of beefsteak.In a real sense , a cheery tomato is much more efficient than a beefsteak, as far as the plant's mission is concerned. But as far as I AM concerned, I rather grow a pathenocarpic with no or little seeds. JMO

Gardeneer

[NarnianGarden]

Madame Tomato guru succeeded at it again and wiped me off the earth..
Here I was , hoping that I was doing my tomatoes a favor by pollinating / pollenating them with an electric toothbrush But it appears that has possibly nothing to do with effective fruiting ..

[MissS]

While a tomato is not a mammal, I would think that each blossom is an opportunity for procreation and that each fruit would have a different number of ova forming. Mammals start out with numerous follicles and only a small number mature to ova to be fertilized. Mammals start out with many ova but the number differs in each cycle as to how many start to develop and how many make it to the finish and are ready for fertilization. I think that each tomato given whatever factors while it develops has a different number of ovules available for pollination.