Tomato News: ‘Rutgers 250’ Tomato Seeds Variety Released for Sale.
Introducing an improved version of the classic Rutgers tomato which is what most people think of as the Jersey tomato, the
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) recently released the new “Rutgers 250” tomato seeds for sale.
A professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Tom Orton informed that, the tomato seeds can be purchased through
the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station’s website, but are in very limited supply. At the Middlesex County Master Gardener
plant sale during Rutgers Day on April 30, and at other events and farm markets this spring, Rutgers 250 tomato plants will also
be available.
The Rutgers 250 tomato is the result of several years of work by a team of researchers who strove to reinvent a historically
significant variety and was named in celebration of Rutgers’ milestone 250th anniversary. It is promising to add a burst of
flavour to salads and sandwiches that most supermarket varieties lack.
Orton said, "At one point in time most of the tomatoes grown around the world were the Rutgers variety. It was grown for both fresh
market and for processing and dwarfed everything else. The Rutgers tomato was a variety that had defined a whole industry. About
2,000 seed packets of the new Rutgers 250 are available this year for the debut." The Rutgers tomato became synonymous with the
Jersey tomato and the culinary experience of eating something fresh from the garden, Orton said.
The original Rutgers tomato was released in 1934 as the result of a collaboration between the Campbell Soup Co. and the university.
When the original Rutgers tomato was developed, it was considered more resistant to cracking than its predecessors and became a
staple ingredient in the Campbell’s soup product line. But like many innovations of the era, the Rutgers tomato was developed
without a patent, and seed companies made changes to it over time.
Peter Nitzsche has been working with Orton on the project. An associate professor and agricultural agent for Rutgers Cooperative
Extension, Peter Nitzsche said that, the new variety has a firmer skin and acid and sugar balance reminiscent of the original
Rutgers tomato. The Rutgers 250 has that traditional Jersey tomato flavour with a little bit of bite and complexity.
Rutgers 250 seeds will be more widely available for sale next spring. Orton is also working to develop a version of the new
Rutgers tomato suitable for large-scale commercial farmers that should be ready in 2018.
