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Old January 5, 2016   #60
Fred Hempel
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sunol, CA
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DNA fingerprinting is now available and cheap, and this is one reason I doubt that the "big companies" currently steal varieties, rename them, and claim they are hybrids.

It is just too easy to prove that they did it. Plus, it would require a company conspiracy to steal an OP variety and re-name it, which would also increase the risk even more. The company can't assume that all folks in the production chain would go along, without blowing the whistle.

Quote:
Originally Posted by goodwin View Post
Well, we're all on the same page. I need to make one correction to my previous post. What I remembered as two varieties is just one. In one place it is listed as a hybrid and in the other they don't say. But both listings use the same name.
Although, when I think about the logistics of bringing a new variety to market I am not sure there would have been enough time between my release and this new tomato anyway. So they probably are different.
The key in the future will be the ability to easily identify a unique variety from a DNA sample. That will stop any foolishness that might be going on.
Lee
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