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- Mature male and female gametes produced by the stamen and pistil of the tomato flower fertilize to create an egg. The developing egg divides into two cells and continues subdividing to create a seed surrounded by the pulp of the tomato fruit. Harvesting the seed requires allowing a gel containing the seed to ferment for five days and then removing and drying the seeds.
- A tomato seed starts as small, flat disc of material about 1/5 inch long. Its testa or seed coat encapsulates an embryo, surrounded by endosperm, a starchy food that enables the young plant to grow. The seed will remain dormant as long as it is cool and dry. The parts of the seed are not true leaves, stems and roots, but they are effective enough to launch the plant into its growth phase, and allow true leaves, roots and stems to appear.
- Tomato seeds germinate rapidly in temperatures of 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, in moist, oxygenated soil. Water softens and swells open the seed coat, which splits, and the radicle or young root emerges. Root hairs on the radicle take in water and minerals from the soil. The plumule or young shoot heads toward the sky, while the radicle stretches to become the main root, and side roots develop as well in the ground. At the end of the plumule, a pair of cotyledons, or embryonic leaves, unfurl, long and narrow with smooth edges.
- A first pair of true leaves appears, marked by the characteristic compound leaves of tomatoes, consisting of multiple leaflets on a rachis, or leaf midrib. The cotyledons shrink as the young tomato plant uses up the food contained in them. The plant continues to grow as long as conditions remain favorable and begins to make its own food via photosynthesis. Tomato plants require at least seven hours of daily sunlight as well as water, warmth and oxygen to flourish.
Formation
Parts
Process
Growth
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