Jointed tomato

[joe f.]

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.

[Steve]

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

[joe f.]

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

[Steve]

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

[joe f.]

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