Mortgage Lifter is the name given to a
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
of
tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
developed by Willam Estler of Barboursville, West Virginia, in 1922. He registered the name in 1932, several years before "Radiator Charlie" and his "Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter". Robert Howard Estler, last remaining son of William Estler, died in October 2012.
According to many sources on the Internet, the Mortgage Lifter was not developed by Willam Estler. Instead, it is said to have been developed by M.C. "Radiator Charlie" Byles in Logan, West Virginia.
Byles is said to have developed it in the early 1930s. However, as mentioned above, Byles' and Estler's breeds are distinct cultivars.
The original Mortgage Lifter is known for its mild sweet flavor, and can weigh as much as . Byles' and Estler's cultivars are only the most well-known of a number of
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
-era tomato breeds named "Mortgage Lifter". These were developed for the nursery plant market, and named after their presumably high saleability, which allowed small-scale plant nurseries and farmers to recover from
debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...
.
See also
*
List of tomato cultivars
There are more than 10,000 tomato varieties available.
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Table of tomatoes
See also
* Lists of cultivars
* List of tomato dishes
Notes
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::Some tomato cultivars will be marked with disease resistance codes, signifying that the plan ...
References
External links
Picture Gallery from Google Images
{{Tomatoes
Heirloom tomato cultivars