Input on Yellow Pear cross

[Mudman]

I will be doing several crosses in my garden this summer and I was thinking about buying a Yellow Pear to include in the crosses. Although I think they are bland tasting, they are by far the most productive and largest plants I have ever grown. Could this growth habit be crossed to produce a more productive medium or large tomato or will this charactoristic be lost as fruit gets larger?
Here is what else I have to work with. Any input or opinions are welcome.
Brandywine Pink
Cherokee Purple
Amish Paste
Debaroa
Mr. Stripey
WI 55 Gold
Superbeef
Prudens Purple
Great White
Green Zebra
Chocolate Stripes

[Tom Wagner]

Although I have been using Yellow Pear in my tomato breeding since the 1950's I have precious few that are released. My Fort Vancouver Yellow Pear is an exception.


I know a lot of folks think my Green Grape tomato variety has Yellow Pear in its genetic background but.... no...it does not.

The Google search for Green Grape (yellow pear) and Evergreen brings up all kinds of results...and most are erroneous.


One hundred vegetables and where they came from

Green Grape Tomato ... of a controlled cross between the small Yellow Pear tomato and Evergreen

This publication by WWW (Weaver) started the ball rolling on the wrong pedigree. I talked with WWW since then to tell him that the Yellow Pear was not involved.


I've told Ibsen but this still persists...

This old-fashioned tomato is an heirloom originally developed by the Tater Mater Seed Co. from crossing the Yellow Pear with Evergreen.

More recently...

...it was my understanding (whether a correct assumption or not) that Tom Wagner created Green Grape from something like Evergreen x Yellow Pear

Tatiana gets it right...

History Green Grape

• Bred by Tom Wagner, a private tomato and potato breeder and founder of Tater Mater Seed, who released it in 1978; this is the original selection by Tom Wagner
• Cross of several heirlooms (including Evergreen). Despite a common belief, there is no Yellow Pear in the parentage!

The release was local in 1978, however the widespread release was 1983 in the Tater Mater catalog.

I suppose I should go back into my varietal inventory and release next year some of my Yellow Pear derived clones. I have some cute Green Pear types of Yellow Pear x Green Grape, Yellow Pear x Green Bell Pepper, and dozens more. Some tiny and some large. In fact, I have so many that it would take a month of Sundays to try to elaborate. But this is planting season and I have no time to do more than this short rendition.

Flavor in many of my Y.P. creations are not in the top tier of anybody's favs. But unique shapes and colors are ubiquitous. Some large tomatoes with necks are hilarious.

Note to self: Locate a few of my twenty year old seed boxes and renew some of the ones folks might want. The plot in the Cuyama Valley 1990 was full of F-2 Yellow Pear breeding lines.

Tom Wagner

[Mudman]

Thanks Tom. I know you have tried more combinations than I could ever think of so I think I will skip the idea. If yours didn't yeild good flavor, I don't want to waste time or space on it. I did smile thinking about a large long neck tomato though.