Think of tomatoes and my mind goes to a delightful garden or greenhouse. But for some, life is more lab rat than garden plant.
Barely a day goes by without news of another scientist holing up with 5,000 tomatoes plants in an attempt to make them jump through more twine hoops.
This time comes the discovery that a specific gene – SFT- can be used to crank up both tomato yield and sweetness. This discovery is signficant because increased productivity is usually only acheived at the expense of the sweetness of the fruit. BECAUSE (and this is the bit I found fascinating) ‘ Tomato plants only produce a finite amount of sugar which they distribute equally among their fruit‘.
I just find that amazing; how controlled and purposeful in design is nature ? So amazing I can see the appeal of plant science – except I expect it’s ethically frowned on to forget your lunch and instead place the objects of your scientific scrutiny between two buttered slices of Hovis.
