course, these materials are planted and checked and their predictive models are adjusted when necessary. Pais de Arruda said this technique allows a breeder to be more focused and better use the resources available to them. There will continue to be advances in how new varieties are developed, but what probably won’t change is the top trait breeders are looking for. “Yield is still number one,” said Zischke. Growers necessarily have to measure the success of any variety by revenue per acre and that equates to tonnage. The veteran seed breeder said there are many other traits that are important—disease resistance, quality, plant vigor and taste, to name a few,—but if a variety doesn’t offer a competitive yield profile, no one is going to grow it. He did offer that Sakata continues to improve its varieties in all these areas. He also noted that in Florida the company’s tomato breeding program has made major gains in a short amount of time on improving flavor. They are using markers for flavor components developed by Harry
Klee, Ph.D. of the University of Florida, and are selecting different combinations of these flavor alleles to optimize flavor and validating with sensory panels. These genetic markers allowed Sakata to accomplish in a handful of years what could have taken much longer through conventional breeding.
Pais de Arruda listed the top three varietal characteristics for tomatoes as yield, quality and flavor. “Yield has to be number one,” he said, indicating that without a yield factor that allows for the making of a profit, nothing else matters.
But he noted that quality is very important and firmness is still something that has to be present in fresh market tomatoes, which is his specialty. Flavor is another important trait that makes his top three for obvious reasons. While Pais de Arruda did list a top three, he said a successful variety has to have many other good traits including good
fruit size and long shelf life. He added that the plant also must have good cover to protect fresh market tomatoes as they grow.
MAY | JUNE 2021
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Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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