tedln

Carolyn,

I rarely have cat facing on other plants. I thought after the spring tomatoes were cat faced with irregular shapes, the cool, early spring; temps were at fault. Other varieties on both sides of the Arbuznyi did not cat face though their blossom and fruit set occurred under the same conditions as the Arbuznyi. I kept the Arbuznyi plants alive through the high summer temps and they set fruit under much warmer fall conditions. They still developed severe cat facing on all the fruit. They taste okay, but they sure are ugly. I can't think of a logical explanation other than genetic abnormalities.

Gill,

I've eaten the Russet apples here in North America though I consider them an "old" variety with their attributes surpassed by more recently introduced varieties. If I remember correctly, they were considered pie apples or cooking apples instead of eating apples. They did have a dull gloss surface compared to Red Delicious and others. I never thought of comparing their appearance to the Arbuznyi tomato.

Ted