Field Trials Begin For The Husky Tomato In St. Cloud [AUDIO]

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Imagine one day being able to grow and eat a black and red striped tomato called the "Husky Tomato". That's the goal of two professors and some of their students at St. Cloud State University.

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Tracy Ore is a Sociology Professor and the Director of the SCSU Community Garden. She has had the idea for years. Biology Professor Angela McDonnell arrived on campus in the fall of 2022. When one of her students needed a research project, the partnership was formed.

Since 2022, about 15 different students have been involved in the research project.

So far, they've had four generations of cross-pollinated plants.

It's all about looks right now. We've grown black tomatos, and we've grown stripey tomatos, and we've been generating offspring between them. And then we've been generating offspring between the offspring. Basically, only carrying forward individuals that are either black and red or striped. And, we've also collected data on fruit size.

This year is significant because up until now, all of the Husky Tomato plants have been grown in a controlled environment inside the St. Cloud State greenhouse. This is the first field trial for the plants, with six plants growing at the Community Garden and one plant at an undisclosed location.

McDonnell says this year is a big step forward.

We want to see how the fruits differ when they are grown outside versus inside. Also, when we grow things in the greenhouse, I don't typically allow students to consume the stuff we grow; we haven't eaten the fruits yet. I don't doubt that they'll be delicious, but eventually we're going to have to start eating them and see what we like.

Nurturing the six Husky Tomato plants in the SCSU Community Garden is Ore. She has become somewhat of a tomato expert. Besides the Husky, 94 other tomato varieties are growing in the garden this summer.

The results have been mixed, and they haven't achieved a consistent stripe yet.

However, we do have a lot of black and red tomatos that are sort of half-and-half with black on the top and red on the bottom, which is also another unique outcome that would still be a contender for a Husky tomato.

McDonnell says the half-red and half-black tomatoes look like a fishing bobber.

There are a lot of varieties of tomatoes already on the market, but none have a distinct red and black stripe.

McDonnell says while local folks are excited about getting their hands on a locally created tomato variety, she cautions that this is just the fifth year of research. It typically takes 10 to 20 years to generate a variety that is consistently exactly how they want it to be.

If St. Cloud State University chooses to protect the intellectual property of the Husky Tomato, it could be a small revenue generator for the SCSU Community Garden.

So far, the fruit they have been producing is a size that is slightly bigger than a cherry tomato. As for the flavor, the researchers haven't tasted any of the varieties yet.

The Husky Tomato Project is supported in part by the "Growing Community: Seeds to Summit" initiative. The three-year grant from the SCSU Foundation's Husky Impact Funds connects the garden to the Honors College, Huskies Food Pantry, University Library, and SCSU Herbarium & Greenhouse.

Listen to the full conversation with WJON News Director Jim Maurice talking to SCSU Professor McDonnell and Ore at the Community Gardens.