Saving seed near Solanum pimpinellifolium (currant tomatoes)?

[zendog]

Hi,

I'm growing Ted's Pink Currant this year, which is a Solanum pimpinellifolium, and the description on Victory seeds notes they will cross pollinate readily with your regular tomatoes. I don't generally bag blossoms when I'm saving seed, so I'm wondering how much of an issue this could be. Does anyone have experience with saving seed with this species in your garden?

Are the similar to other tomatoes or are they somehow particularly "promiscuous"? Do they need to be 10 feet away to be safe? 100 feet? In another state?

Thanks for any insight.

[Scooty]

Originally Posted by zendog

Hi,

I'm growing Ted's Pink Currant this year, which is a Solanum pimpinellifolium, and the description on Victory seeds notes they will cross pollinate readily with your regular tomatoes. I don't generally bag blossoms when I'm saving seed, so I'm wondering how much of an issue this could be. Does anyone have experience with saving seed with this species in your garden?

Are the similar to other tomatoes or are they somehow particularly "promiscuous"? Do they need to be 10 feet away to be safe? 100 feet? In another state?

Thanks for any insight.

If you're easily getting crosses for your other maters when you save seed year to year, then this one will probably cross for you too.

[zendog]

Originally Posted by Scooty

If you're easily getting crosses for your other maters when you save seed year to year, then this one will probably cross for you too.

I haven't seen any indication of crosses so far, but I realize it is possible even probable. But this is the first time with one of the currant types and I wasn't sure if something about them made them more prone to crossing. If they are basically the same I won't worry too much about it.

I would consider bagging blossoms, but most of my plants are in a community garden where so many tomatoes are stollen that I just have to save seeds from the tomatoes the thieves leave me...

[rxkeith]

the way i understand it is that currant tomatoes are more likely to cross because they have an extended stigma that protrudes out from the anther cones more so then the regular tomatoes making them more receptive to pollen from other tomatoes.
the regular tomatoes would mostly self pollinate like they normally do.

have i got that right?



keith

[Douglas_OW]

I asked the same question once:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...183#post159183

I agree with Keith's answer; the currants are more likely to get cross pollinated by other varieties. The regular varieties should be OK (not more likely to get crossed by the currants than by other varieties).

Jim