Roma tomato

Roma

Roma Tomatoes
Stats
Maturity 75 days
Type open-pollinated
Vine determinate
Plant height 4 feet
Fruit Weight 4 oz
Leaf regular leaf

HI

Resist. V, F
Color Red (pink)
Shape Plum

Roma tomato or Roma (the "Roma VF" variant is most common in seed catalogs as of 2007) is a plum tomato that is commonly found in supermarkets. The tomato is a meaty, egg- or pear-shaped tomato that is available in red and yellow. It has few seeds and is a good canning and sauce tomato. While Roma is an open-pollinated variety, in general it is not considered an heirloom tomato. Roma tomatoes are also known as Italian tomatoes or Italian plum tomatoes.[1]

Roma tomatoes are grown in the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Great Britain. The vines are determinate and fruit heavily, making Roma a popular variety with gardeners who do a lot of home canning. While Roma is an open-pollinated variety rather than a hybrid, it has been steadily improved to the point where most Roma tomato vines are fusarium wilt and verticillium-resistant (thus the VF in the name). Most commercial plum tomatoes sold in markets in the Western Hemisphere are Romas or related types. Smaller plum-shaped tomatoes are sometimes sold as "baby Romas".

A smaller relative known as "Windowbox Roma" is sold as a tomato suitable for window gardens and hanging containers.

Roma tomatoes are particularly popular in the golden horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada.

References

  1. ^ The Cook's Thesaurus, Tomato (accessed 17 August 2010)

See also