Problems with Hybrid Tomatoes

Hybrid Tomatoes

• Developed and produced by scientists and leaders in agribusiness, hybrid tomatoes are created by crossing parent plants in such a way that specific and particular offspring result. When the offspring is produced, it is again pollinated by the parent plants and repurchased by farmers. This produces exceptionally shaped tomatoes that are genetically resistant to diseases and pesticides. These hybrid tomatoes also last longer without spoiling, making transportation easier and more cost effective.

Flavor

• Though the hybrid tomatoes have benefits, they also present new problems to tomato farmers and consumers. Hybrid tomatoes tend to be much less flavorful than heirloom tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are grown naturally without genetic hybridization or alteration. Hybrids tend to have a bland, watery and even bitter taste to them, making them less appealing to customers and consumers.

Instability

• Some gardeners and farmers claim that, although hybrids are designed to produce perfect fruit after every breeding, they are proving to be unstable. The hybrid seeds lose their potency over time and after generations of hybridization some farmers claim that the tomatoes being produced are not of the same quality as the original hybrid tomatoes.

Tradition

• With the rise of hybrid tomato production comes the decreases of traditional tomato gardening. Because hybridization is highly dependent on corporate decisions and sales, farmers and gardeners no longer receive the demand for heirloom tomatoes. As the tradition of raising home grown tomatoes wanes, hybrid tomatoes are produced in greater and greater quantities.