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Do you sample and eat these fruits of 'work-still-in-progress'? How do they taste?
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I have these precursors of the Indigo Rose planted in different areas and the plants pictured were grown for a few weeks under the low plastic tunnels with slitted sides.
Once the plastic was off...it was warm enough to grow the plants normally. The fruits won't be ready until August/September and most of the other plants might produce by October.
What I want to determine is if any of the three types of plants used in the breeding of Indigo Rose have a flavor disadvantage due to genetic drag coming from the species of cheesmaii, chilense, and lycopersicoides or if it is just the original cultivars such as VF36 that are responsible. I have the VF36 in Hawaii to get a flavor test.
Using each of the ancestral lines in crosses with other types of tomatoes will help me recognize dominant or recessive flavor combining ability. Likely, I will send the initial hybrid work to Hawaii to be grown out of season (for me anyway) in order to get F-2 seed for my 2014 trials.
I don't know how many of my 320 different combination crosses have taken during the last two weeks...but I know the following are among the many blue crosses:
LA1996 (Aft) x LA0791{atv)
LA1996 (Aft) x Indigo Rose
Abg x Indigo Rose
LA0791{atv) x Indigo Rose
Yamali Blue x LA0791(atv)
LA0791 (atv) x Dancing with Smurfs
LA1996 (Aft) x Dancing with Smurfs
Because the "take" of hand pollinations are iffy...I will make more crosses as needed.
I just happened to think of more crosses to make...especially to high flavored green and gold lines such as Green Grape Beyond and Flaming Burst.