Can anyone tell me or direct me to a web site--what is a jointed
tomato? Some seed catalogs list tomatos as jointed or jointless.

joe f. wrote:

Can anyone tell me or direct me to a web site--what is a jointed
tomato? Some seed catalogs list tomatos as jointed or jointless.


Jointed (or not jointed) refers to the little stem that attaches the
tomato to the plant. Most tomatoes are jointed. When you pick them, the
joint breaks leaving a short stem attached to the tomato.
Jointless tomatoes were bred for commercial growers. If there is no
joint, the stem pulls out of the tomato when it is picked. This is
desirable for shipping because if a stem is attached, it can poke holes
in the other tomatoes it touches.

Steve

Thanks Steve your reply makes sense but it is different from other
answers I have gotten.The botany.com web site dictionary lists
jointed:with nodes as the joints of a grass stem.I'll keep diging

joe f. wrote:

Thanks Steve your reply makes sense but it is different from other
answers I have gotten.The botany.com web site dictionary lists
jointed:with nodes as the joints of a grass stem.I'll keep diging


I'm not sure there is any contradiction there. The little joint in most
tomato stems are indeed a node similar to the joints in grass stems.

Steve

Steve I checked with the college of agriculture at the University of
Ky. you are right on the money. Thanks for the info.