By Michelle Fabio
Ever wonder why cherry tomatoes are small and round while Romas are long and oval-shaped?
Crop scientists at Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) did, and through studies “identified one key candidate gene that was turned on at high levels in the tomato varieties carrying the elongated fruit type, while the gene was turned off in round fruit.”
They named that gene SUN after the “Sun 1642” type of tomato, which looks like a Roma with a pointy end.
According to Esther van der Knaap, the lead researcher in the study, tomatoes “are the model in this emerging field of fruit morphology studies.” This is because of their unique evolution from a small,round shape in the wild into the hundreds if not thousands of varieties today.
After identifying one gene that was “turned on” at high levels in elongated fruit by “turned off” in round varieties, the researchers tested their theory that this was responsible for fruit shape by conducting plant transformation experiments.
Indeed, when the gene was “knocked out” of the plants normally bearing elongated fruit, the resulting fruit was round, and when the gene was introduced in round-fruit bearing plants, the new tomatoes were elongated.
What does this mean for us in the real world?
Besides allowing for new hybrids and also assurance that some tomato breeds won’t die out, perhaps you could soon order your very own designer tomatoes?
Source: Crop Scientists Discover Gene That Controls Fruit Shape
We are working on our tomato picture album for the 2008 crop, we will show as we did last year the progress of theplants from day one untill I am eating a good home grown tomato sandwich, It will start the day the first plant is in the ground. Watch for it. DAD.
Tomato Slice 2005 
Have You Started Your Tomato Seeds Yet?
By Michelle Fabio
Here at Tomato Casual, we’ve talked before about when you should start sowing your tomato seeds, and now the time is finally here (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, of course).
As a reminder, the most important date you need to know is the expected date of the last frost in your area.
Your plants should be ready to be planted outside about two to three weeks after that, which means that you’ll want to start your seeds Read the rest of this entry »
Here is something below that I hope all of you tomatoe growers will see, its about frost and freeze dates in the U.S.
http://www.almanac.com/garden/frostus.php
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4/10/08 2:13 PM
Loved reading about the difference between roma and cherry. Very interesting.
~Lily