US: WVU professor developed centennial tomato
The hard work has paid off many times over for that professor, Mannon Gallegly, who turns 90 this month and still is enjoying the fruits of his labor, literally. Yes, he likes to eat the tomato variety, though these days he either has to eat them cooked or remove the seeds if he eats them raw.
"As you age, you develop diverticulitis and tomato seeds can be bad for that," he said. He also has a continued professional interest. Gallegly, as a professor emeritus for WVU, still has a lab there and continues to study seeds.
About five years ago, he realized subsequent generations of the West Virginia 63 had started to produce smaller fruit. "So I started over to bring back the proper size of the tomato," he said.
That involved contacting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colo., and asking for some of the original seeds.
The West Virginia 63 is a good, solid citizen of tomatoes. Think Ford sedan rather than Porsche convertible. It's not flashy in size or color - no crazy stripes or giant fruit here. It is medium-sized, nicely rounded and flavorful. Of course, because of Gallegly's work, it is not prone to disease. It doesn't grow so large that it is prone to cracking, either.
Avid gardeners know about this tomato and have saved its seeds for years. In honor of the state's sesquicentennial this year, WVU Extension had a limited supply that it offered for free to folks who sent a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and all the available seeds were snatched up immediately.
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