THE INFLUENCE OF FRUIT POSITION ON PROGENY PERFORMANCE IN THE TOMATO

Separate seed lots were collected from the first five trusses of a single tomato plant cv. 'Moneymaker'. Plants from the seed were grown on in containers in a greenhouse to investigate the effects of mother plant fruit position on the progeny. The plants were stopped after the fourth truss. A randomised design of four blocks was used, the total number of treatments including progeny trusses was twenty and the total number of observations was eighty.

There were no effects on growth rate, plant development or yield of the progeny. Seed was harvested separately from each of the first four trusses of the progeny and assessed for yield and quality. There were no marked effects of fruit position on the germination and seedling vigour of seeds derived from the different positions.