Home gardeners test tomato varieties for University of Florida

A unique program at the University of Florida is asking home gardeners to grow and evaluate new tomato varieties.

The university’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) has sent new varieties to tomato enthusiasts for about five years, with more than 13,000 people planting the seeds in all 50 states and 40 countries, according to a news release from the university.

And while IFAS horticultural sciences professor Harry Klee has welcomed all feedback from those growers, the university has established a formal process for the information.

For donations of $25 or more, home gardeners are receiving seed packets. As of the program’s start on Jan. 4, about 200 of the commercially untested varieties have been mailed, according to the release.

“They get to be amateur plant breeders,” Klee said in the release. “Our goal is to get feedback on the performance and consumer acceptability for varieties for as large a geographic region as possible. It goes way beyond Florida.” 

The varieties will also be evaluated in the usual manner, with volunteers at the university’s Sensory Lab in Gainesville.
Donations provide support for further tomato research at UF/IFAS and help cover the cost of creating and mailing the seed packets. 

Donations pay for mailing and support for tomato research at IFAS. Participants are helping the tomato breeding program advance flavor research and variety development, according to Caylin Hilton, associate director for the University of Florida/IFAS Advancement.

“This program connects passionate gardeners with research and in turn, provides them the opportunity to try new varieties, help researchers like Dr. Klee select varieties for further development and apply the scientific method in their own gardens,” Hilton said in the release.