Schematic diagram, not a photo. A reference illustration is in progress.

No. 037 · open-pollinated

Rutgers

Rutgers is a determinate open-pollinated slicer with red fruit. It ripens in about 75 days.

Typeslicer
Habitdeterminate
Days to maturity75
Fruit size6 to 8 oz
Colorred
Difficultyeasy

Flavor

Described as having an intense, classic tomato taste with an excellent balance of acidity and sweetness. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.

Origin

Released in 1934 by Dr. Lyman Schermerhorn at the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, from a cross of J.T.D. and Marglobe, in collaboration with the Campbell Soup Company's Riverton research facility.

What it does well

  • Classic dual-purpose canning and slicing variety
  • Uniform round fruit that ripens evenly

Where it frustrates

  • Thin skin made it unsuitable for mechanical harvesting, which led to its commercial decline
  • Modern strains vary in habit and fruit size compared to the original

Like Rutgers, but...

Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.

Marglobebut the earlier USDA parent variety Rutgers was bred fromCelebritybut a modern disease-resistant hybrid rather than an open-pollinated classic

Sources