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Grittyville, WA

Cell division for fruit size:

https://johnkempf.com/cell-division-for-fruit-size-and-quality/

Looks like good info.

Research paper on tomatoes:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4246789/

A full text research paper specific to tomatoes.

I can barely read it but I think one takeaway is that temps do affect the period of cell division, the number of cells, and if it were not for limited assimilates, could change the fruit size.

Or you can just use magic fairy dust like Butler & Porkchop... what's their secret???

8/30/2022 6:02:39 PM

Central NY

It’s not fairy dust… it’s angel dust.

8/30/2022 6:05:06 PM

Grittyville, WA

If its not your beard hairs, then I dont wanna know which hairs it is- lol.

But after thinking about it for a minute, I think a practical takeaway might be to try shading the flower bud (tomato or pumpkin) from ANY direct heat from the sun, during its entire development. Light is good, warmth is good, but here it is: I bet direct sun-heat on the bud or young fruit is always going to go against the maximum fruit size.

I'm rolling the dice here mentally... as usual.

8/30/2022 6:19:54 PM

Central NY

Yahtzee!

8/30/2022 7:41:31 PM

Lodi, California

This is interesting. Made me think, people have been saying the cell division period is 14 days, but what if AGs are so big because we've bred them in such a way as to increase the number of days of cell division? Not sure if that is a cause for their size, but it's a though.

12/13/2022 12:33:30 PM