Varietal Characteristics

Varietal traits are the set of characteristics encoded in the genes of a given tomato variety. They include, among other things, growth habit, fruit size and shape, color, flavor, ripening time, yield, and resistance to certain diseases. It is these characteristics that cause two varieties to look and taste completely different despite identical growing conditions. Environmental conditions affect yield, but they do not alter the genetic characteristics of the variety. Before considering an unusual appearance to be a problem, it is worth comparing the plant with a reliable description of the variety.