Cultivar Crimson Heart

The newest indeterminate open field tomato variety "Scarlet Heart" was developed at the Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute – Plovdiv through repeated individual selection in a local population known as „Oxheart“.

The plants are vigorous, the stem is of medium thickness with medium-long to long internodes. The leaves are simple. The inflorescences are simple, arranged every three leaves, forming 2-5 fruits. Unripe fruits have a green shoulder, which completely disappears at botanical maturity. Ripe fruits are intense red, scarlet, heart-shaped, very large with an average weight of 300-700 g, multi-locular, fleshy, firm, without pith, with a delicate texture and skin, with very good taste qualities and a pleasant tomato aroma, intended for fresh consumption. Dry matter, refractometric - 5.2-5.5%.

The variety has good adaptability and can be grown both in protected cultivation structures and in the open field – under field conditions for early and medium-early production. Under greenhouse conditions the yields are – 5000-7000 kg/da, and under field conditions 4500-6000 kg/da.

The plants must be tied to a high supporting structure and regularly pruned (side shoots removed). A suitable single-row transplanting scheme is 70-80/30-35 cm, at 6-8 inflorescences or without topping the growing point.