Is there a limit to how many times you can clone a tomato plant? - Page 2

Delerium · April 30, 2014

Lets just say the plant your taking the cutting from visually looks healthy but has the possibility of being diseased. And you grew that cutting out and compared the cutting to a plant grown from seed of the same variety. Would you assume that the plant that was started from seed compared to the clone would last longer overall disease free during the growing season? Or would both plants pretty much produce about the same but suffer the same fate about the same time when disease starts become a problem?

Stvrob · April 30, 2014

I would say that in the specific case you mentioned, that it would depend on whether your cutting actually was disease free. If you thought it was, but it actually was carrying a disease, I would think it would succumb earlier than the seed grown plant (which can only get the disease from the environment when conditions favor communicability). On the other hand, this might be basic stuff for an expert on plant pathology, so I am hoping someone else chimes in.

heirloomtomaguy · April 30, 2014

I cut down all of my plants at container soil level at the end of last season and set them aside. To my surprise more than half of these dried up stumps sprouted stems and voila i kept 16 single stem plants going through winter.

Tracydr · April 30, 2014

I had a determinate once that sprawled and made a new plant by growing roots on a limb. I watched the first plant stop giving tomatoes after the flush, then the new plant had a crop. I have no idea how long that could keep happening but I would think you could get at least 3-4 generations this way.
Don't know about using grafts but I'd think it would be similar.

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April 30, 2014	#16
Delerium Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: California Posts: 942	Lets just say the plant your taking the cutting from visually looks healthy but has the possibility of being diseased. And you grew that cutting out and compared the cutting to a plant grown from seed of the same variety. Would you assume that the plant that was started from seed compared to the clone would last longer overall disease free during the growing season? Or would both plants pretty much produce about the same but suffer the same fate about the same time when disease starts become a problem?

April 30, 2014	#17
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	I would say that in the specific case you mentioned, that it would depend on whether your cutting actually was disease free. If you thought it was, but it actually was carrying a disease, I would think it would succumb earlier than the seed grown plant (which can only get the disease from the environment when conditions favor communicability). On the other hand, this might be basic stuff for an expert on plant pathology, so I am hoping someone else chimes in.

April 30, 2014	#18
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	I cut down all of my plants at container soil level at the end of last season and set them aside. To my surprise more than half of these dried up stumps sprouted stems and voila i kept 16 single stem plants going through winter.

April 30, 2014	#19
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I had a determinate once that sprawled and made a new plant by growing roots on a limb. I watched the first plant stop giving tomatoes after the flush, then the new plant had a crop. I have no idea how long that could keep happening but I would think you could get at least 3-4 generations this way. Don't know about using grafts but I'd think it would be similar.