San Antonio, Texas
March 9, 2004
In springtime vegetable gardeners
start dreaming about tomatoes. And this year Texas tomato
gardeners might want to consider Tomato 444. It's the latest
plant to be designated as a Texas Superstar.
"Tomato
444 is one of the few hybrid tomato varieties which has natural
plant resistant to tomato spotted wilt virus and the problems it
causes," said Dr. Jerry Parsons, horticulture specialist with
Texas Cooperative Extension in San Antonio. "The fruit is large
and the quality is excellent. To many people, Tomato 444 tastes
better than the ever-popular Celebrity tomato. Tomato 444
definitely produces more fruit than Celebrity."
A hybrid is a first-generation cross of two genetically
different varieties, Parsons said. In order to obtain a high
degree of uniformity, the parent lines are usually inbred for
several generations.
Just the fact that a variety is a hybrid does not make it an
automatic winner.
"The horticultural merits of a hybrid must also be proven in
every growing area, just as those of any other variety
released," Parsons said.
Tomato 444 has been tested for several years by Extension, with
the help of Master Gardeners and Gardening Volunteers of South
Texas, and has always produced a large quality crop, he said.
Many vegetables require hand pollination to produce hybrid
lines. Because labor is expensive, the price of the hybrid seed
often reflects this cost, he added.
"In order to reduce costs, some companies use foreign labor and
produce their seeds in South America or the Far East. Some
hybrid seeds cost as much as much as three to 10 times the price
of open-pollinated seed," Parsons said. "Hybrid tomato seed can
sell for over $50 for 1000 seed, so hybrids such as '444' are
best purchased as transplants.
"Hybrid crosses also have an additional spark called hybrid
vigor. The plants grow rapidly with good uniformity," he said.
"By producing inbred lines with good disease resistance, the
resulting hybrid crosses may inherit these qualities."
Timing is important when planting vegetables.
"If it is too early to plant transplants in your area and you
put them in the ground, they will be frozen," Parsons said. "Yet
transplants of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should be
established as soon in the spring as feasibly possible so they
can be blooming profusely when the optimum fruit setting
conditions occur."
Or consider planting the tomato transplant in a pot.
"A plant in a pot has the distinct advantage of being portable,"
Parsons said. "This means that you can move your portable plant
into a protected location when cold weather occurs. The potted
plant will be expanding its root system at a faster rate than
those in the soil because the potting soil will be warmer and
porous. Never use garden soil in a container. Instead purchase a
well-draining potting mix."
His advice: Add slow-release fertilizer pellets before planting
in a gallon-size container. Keep plants in full sunlight and do
not overwater.
For a complete guide for growing tomatoes, go to:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/tomato.html
The Texas Superstar effort is "one of Texas A&M University's
most innovative and successful horticultural research and
Extension programs," said Dr. Steve George, Extension
horticulturist at Texas A&M Dallas and head of the Texas
Superstar program. "Only the best-adapted, highest-performing
and most pest-resistant plant materials are designated Texas
Superstars, and should include the Texas Superstar pot label."
Transplants of Tomato 444 plants can be bought at most local
nurseries. Tomato 444 seeds are available from Tomato Growers
Supply Company,
http://tomatogrowers.com, Siegers Seed Company,
http://www.siegers.com
and Johnny's Selected Seeds,
http://www.johnnyseeds.com.
For more information on the Texas Superstar program or to find
the nearest official Texas Superstar retailer, go to
http://TexasSuperstar.com.
Fight Heat
and Disease with 'TOMATO 444'
Gardeners can
now "protect" the tomato crop from the non-productivity and/or
odd colored fruit caused by TSWV (tomato spotted wilt)
infection. A hybrid tomato variety named 'Tomato 444' has
natural resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus and the problems
it causes. The fruit is large and the quality is excellent.
Tomato '444' is the only virus resistant hybrid which has been
extremely productive as well as resistant to TSWV. Most of the
tomato varieties which have done well in this area are hybrids.
These include Big Set, Celebrity, Bingo and Merced. The super
broccoli, Green Comet, and the fast maturing cauliflower, Snow
Crown are hybrids which display superlative characteristics.
A hybrid is a
first generation cross of two genetically different selections.
In order to obtain a high degree of uniformity, the parent lines
are usually the result of inbreeding for several generations.
Producing stock seed inbreds is a difficult task that may
require years to perfect. The resulting crosses produce hybrids
which are often sterile. The seed company that developed the
hybrid then has an exclusive in sales which helps to pay for
research, development cost and company motivation for continued
research.
Many
vegetables require hand pollination to produce the hybrid lines.
Labor is expensive and often the costs are reflected in the
price of the hybrid seed. In order to reduce costs, some
companies use foreign labor and produce their seeds in South
America or the Far East. Some hybrid seeds cost as much as 3-10
times the price of open-pollinated seed. Hybrid tomato seed can
sell for over $40 for 1000 seed so hybrids such as '444' will
ONLY be available as transplants, i.e., seed will not be
packaged.
Hybrid seed
has the advantage of high degree of uniformity as all the seeds
are very similar genetically. This factor is very important in
crops such as broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage. Hybrid varieties
also seem to have an additional spark called hybrid vigor. The
plants grow rapidly with good uniformity. By producing inbred
lines with good disease resistance, the resulting hybrid crosses
may inherit these qualities. This is why 'Tomato 444' has
resistance to TSWV and other foliage diseases.
The fact that
a variety is a hybrid does not make it an automatic winner,
however. The horticultural merits of a hybrid must also be
proven in every growing area, just as those of any other variety
released. 'Tomato 444' has been tested for several years by
Texas Cooperative Extension with the help of Gardening
Volunteers of South Texas and has always produced a large crop
of quality tomatoes. Yield and size data at:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/2001tomatotrials/
shows that 'Tomato 444' (listed as BHN 444) yielded more fruit
which were a larger size than Merced, Celebrity, Whirlaway,
Bingo and Heatwave. This tendency was also repeated in the fall
season as documented at:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/2001falltomatotrials/
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/2003falltomatotrials/
This
selection has been test marketed as 'Healthy Surprise' (the
plant is "healthy" and eating tomatoes makes the grower healthy
as well!--it will "Surprise" you with an abundance of large
fruit!) as described at:
http://www.plantanswers.com/healthy_surprise.htm
Second generation seed at is also available from this website.
Gardeners
always want to know how a tomato variety tastes. Tomato taste is
an individual preference so you have to decide that for yourself
using the growing conditions in your garden. However, in the
spring, '2000, variety trial, a taste test reveiled that 'Tomato
444' was rated better than 'SunMaster' or 'Celebrity'.
The Tomato444
is hard-to-find and expensive for the nurserymen to grow so if
there is danger of frost, high winds or hail, follow the
instructions at:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/tomato.html
and repot the transplants to expand the root system and provide
"insurance' plants by following this information:
Purchase good
transplants of the Extension recommended and Texas SuperStar
variety named 'Tomato444'. If it is too early to plant
transplants in your area and you put them in the ground, THEY
WILL BE FROZEN! Yet transplants of tomatoes, peppers and
eggplants should be established as soon in the spring as
feasibly possible so they can be blooming profusely when the
optimum fruit setting conditions occur. So how can you safely
grow Tomato444 plants during risky weather conditions? Simply
buy plants with the intention of producing bitransplants (a
bitransplant is a regular transplant which will be planted twice
instead of once). Purchase transplants with the idea of putting
them in pots instead of the soil.
A plant in a
pot has the distinct advantage of being portable. This means
that you can react when the weather person says the low
temperature will be 35 degrees F. You know from experience the
actual temperature will more-than-likely be either 25 degrees or
45 degrees so now you can move your portable plant into a
protected location. If the colder temperature occurs, you and
your plants can sit by the fire while those who transplanted
directly into the garden too early are soiling every blanket in
the house and receiving frost bite on their backs while
attempting to protect exposed plants. Even if they succeed, the
effort will not prevent the growth-retarding effects of cold
soil and abusive treatment.
The potted
plant will be expanding its root system at a faster rate than
those in the soil because the potting soil will be warmer and
porous. Never use garden soil in a container. Instead purchase a
well-draining potting mix. Since the mix contains no fertilizer
elements, mix in the right (according to label instructions)
amounts of slow-release fertilizer pellets such as Osmocote
before planting in a gallon-size container. Add a water-soluble
fertilizer to the water each time the plants are moistened -- DO
NOT OVERWATER or you will kill these precious transplants. Stick
your finger in the potting soil and if you feel moisture--WALK
AWAY!!! If you water too much, the base of the plants will rot
and the plants will wilt. It is best to keep the plants on the
"dry side" rather than overwatering them to death.
Keep the
plants in full sunlight situation to avoid stretching or spindly
growth. Transplanting of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can
safely occur in mid to late March in San Antonio and South;
Hillcountry gardeners should wait until after April 10; for
timing in other parts of the state, see the planting and
transplanting table at:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/earthkind/ekgarden14.html
REMEMBER:
Protect potted transplants from virus-spreading insects and wind
damage by covering with Grow-Web as mentioned in # 3 of the
tomato growing advice at:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/tomato.html
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