Organic growers are confronted with a dilemma when it comes to the availability of new cultivars bred for organic farming systems, and the lack of seed from those cultivars. The presenters will discuss their approach to new variety design and development for tomatoes as an example of how to solve this problem. In 2017 they made several dozen novel crosses of heirloom tomatoes with commercial cultivars to improve fruit characteristics, yield, shelf life, and other attributes of the heirlooms. The ultimate goal of the project is to have farmers throughout California and beyond grow these breeding populations, continue making selections, and saving seed for their own use.
Track and Session Info
Track:
Soil, Production, Crops, Regulations
Session:
G | 8:30 am
Date and Location
Day:
Saturday
Date:
10/08/19
Presenter(s):
Steve Peters
Title:
Steve Peters
Presenter Affiliation:
Organic Seed Alliance
Kanti Rawal
Title:
Kanti Rawal
Presenter Affiliation:
Tomato Breeder
