Sekaiichi tomato

[kygreg]

Some info on Sekai Ichi from a Ductch seed bank; thanks to Michael Johnson for forward info about the site.

CGN Accession details
Lycopersicon esculentum (Sekai Ichi)


Identifiers Accession number:CGN14582Accession name:Sekai IchiCrop (and subcrop type):tomatoPopulation type:Breeders variety
SMTA status SMTA needed:Yes
ClassificationGenus:LycopersiconSpecies:esculentum Sub-taxon:
Origin informationCollecting number:Country of origin:JapanCollection site:Latitude / Longitude:34.78 / 134.37, uncertainty 1560424 meterAltitude (m):Collecting dateonor institute:Instituut voor de Veredeling van Tuinbouwgewassen, Wageningen, NetherlandsDonor number:79940Other numbers:1.881Origin address:Origin type:inst/gene bank/breed.comp

Other informationNumber in IVT Monster book:IVT79119+IVT79940Name in English:sekai ichi=world's number one in JapaneseAdditional passport information:selection from cv. "Ponderosa (Encyclopedia of Horticulture, Vol. 6)

[carolyn137]

selection from cv. "Ponderosa (Encyclopedia of Horticulture, Vol. 6)

*****

Which I find interesting since Ponderosa has long been an OP variety.

Do you think it's implied that they crossed Ponderosa with something and then made some selections?

I haven't been paying that much attention but has anyone descibed this Japanese variety as in any way resembling Ponderosa, which is a very large pink beefsteak type introduced in 1891 by the Henderson Seed Co.

There's also a Red Ponderosa as well as a Golden Ponderosa.

Just curious.

[Jeannine Anne]

Clara, I looked at your German link, there was an option for Google to translate it here, so it came up in ,well, sort of English.

Way above my head but it can be seen in English for those much more clever than me LOL

XX Jeannine

[kygreg]

Clara,

Found the following on DG plant files from a gardner in Taiwan:

"Japanese old tomato, but is very flavorful and juicy.
I like to eat this tomato by fresh salad. I think that the skin of the fruits doesn't have crack registance, but this tomato is easily grown and prolific. I will grow again. Delicious tomato!"

[clara]

kygreg, that sounds very promising! Thank you for the info! clara

[Tania]

Greg,

How was Sekai Ichi for you? Any success?

Very interesting thread!

Tania

[bwaynef]

Was there ever fruit produced? How was it?

[Yak54]

I am growing this variety as we speak. The seedlings need a couple more weeks till they will be ready to go in the ground. I got my seeds from Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes in Canada. I have found a couple of Japanese varieties that taste wonderful, so I'm trying a few more in hopes of finding a gem or two. And as far as the male sterile issue goes, this is a standard Open Pollinated variety, and I think the pollination works the same in Japan as it does in Ohio or even New York !

[Yak54]

For further clarification, Casey's catalog says that this tomato was selected from a cross between a large Ponderosa and a Beef Heart.

[bcday]

While there may be a male-sterile version of Sekai-ichi in commercial use somewhere, it seems likely that the seeds that are being traded are the traditional OP one.

Google found this patent description for a method to produce male-sterile plants of any tomato cultivar. Apparently the process was trialed on 5 open-pollinated cultivars -- Sekai-ichi, Red Cherry, VF-36, Delicious and Kurihara.

Here is part of what the description says about Sekai-ichi:
"The inbred tomato cultivar Sekai-ichi was selected for conversion to male-sterility. According to the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE, Vol. 6 (Seibundo Shinkosha, 1970), Prof. Taniguchi of Tokyo Higher Agricultural College characterized Sekai-ichi in 1933 as a selection from cv. Ponderosa or a hybrid obtained via a cross involving cv. Beefheart. Sekai-ichi grows vigorously and abundantly, and is a medium or slow grower. It grows well in places where Ponderosa also grows well but is harvested slightly earlier. The fruit of Sekai-ichi is pink, flat and larger-than-average, with pointed tops, deep hollows and fimbriae extending to the back."

The patent description, "Method for producing male-sterile tomato plants", is at http://www.google.com/patents/EP0363819B1?cl=en

[greenthumbomaha]

I see this on several recent grow/wanted lists. Has there been any resolution to the sterile male blossoms. Sadly, I am getting old to be hand pollinating an entire plant in the summer heat. They are supposed to be delicious. I have been tempted by seeds from the 2014 swap. billingsdj was the donor.

- Lisa

[peebee]

I grew this variety once, many years ago and for what it's worth, I knew nothing about this hand-pollinating thing and it grew fine without any help from me. But the flavor was just ok, so I never grew it again. Since the name means World's Best, I expected to be wowed but wasn't. There are better OP tomatoes out there.
Whenever I visit Japan, I look for this variety in nurseries or supermarkets but have yet to see any, so it is not very popular there. Momotaro reigns supreme, as do the endless different hybrids that seem to pop up all the time.