EXPERIMENT STATION KEPORT. 



475- 



Color Changes in Ripening Tomato Frnita. 



Five fruits, ranging from one the size of a cherry to full size and 

 maturity, were selected from the several types of colors and examined 

 with Prang's color chart. The following table gives some approximate 

 results (y stands for yellow; g for green; o for orange; r for red; 

 D and L for dark and light, respectively) : 



Color of 

 Mature Fruit. 



Bed 



"Pink" 



"Pink" (yel- 

 low foliage) 



Yellow 



"White" 



Young Fruit. 



Ill YG/DD 

 105 YGG/LL 



365? whitish. 

 102 Y YG/DD 



Half Size. 



102YYG/DD 



115 YG/LL 



Nearly 

 Full Size. 



52 0/D 

 45 ORO/L 



(( 

 94 Y/LL 



Ripening 

 Fruit. 



62 0/D 



42 ORO/DD 



95 Y/LL 



Ripe Fruit. 



42 ORO/D 

 32 RO/D 



83YYO 



Color whitish all through — shade not given in the Prang scheme. 



It is seen that the fruits that become red at maturity are of a ver}' 

 dark green at the outset, and gain in yellow until nearing full size, 

 when they become of a dark orange, which is held until near maturit)', 

 when the red is mingled with the orange. A "red" tomato is virtually 

 more orange in color than red. It is a dark orange with a dash of red. 



The "pinks" start with a light green, showing a little yellow, and 

 the green is gradually replaced by the yellow, until when near full 

 size the green disappears and the yellow is replaced by a light orange, 

 showing a trace of red. From this time on the orange and red dee^jens 

 until full maturity, when the fruit is a dark red orange. It ditfers 

 from the so-called "red" fruit in having much more red and less 

 orange. It is this type of fruit that deserves the name of red, while 

 some other term might be given to the group that are more orange 

 than red. 



There is a group of tomatoes that is quickly distinguished by the 

 light green or yellowish foliage, giving the plants the aspect of Ijeing 

 sick, and in this respect objectionable. The "Grandus" and "Honor 

 Bright" are examples of this among the fine-leaved, and the "Princess" 

 and "Dandy Dwarf" among the coarse-leaved sorts. The fruits here. 



