Mortgage Lifter is the name given to a
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
of
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
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-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 or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
.
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 plant ...
References
External links
Picture Gallery from Google Images
{{Tomatoes
Heirloom tomato cultivars