Monday, June 25, 2012

Cat-Faced Tomato

We've got green tomatoes of all shapes and sizes on the vines.  With this heat wave, I am having to be extra careful to make sure the tomatoes have a regular watering schedule.  I have learned quite a bit so far about tomatoes and here's my most recent finding...Here is a picture of the 2nd large tomato I have pulled out of the garden.  It is a Pierce's Pride tomato, but it looked so odd when I pulled it off the vine, I had to research it to see if it had a name.

Cat-facing is a physiological disorder of tomatoes. Cat-face originates in the early stages of flower bud development and is the result of abnormal development of plant tissue between the style and ovary which results in misshapen fruit. Other impediments to flower bud development can also result in cat-facing. The syndrome is related to unfavorable growing conditions, in particular several days below 60 F when the plants are young. Even though it doesn't look like a "normal" tomato, it shouldn't affect the taste.

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