Harrison, A. L.
A single plant was found in the spring of 1953 in a field of Rutgers tomatoes that had a very peculiar type of dense growth, tentatively given the term of "mouse-ear". The leaves were of normal color but were rolled, curled and greatly reduced in size. Leaves instead of being mostly 1-pinnately compound were usually 3 to 4-pinnately compound. Individual leaflets rarely exceeded one-inch in length with many less than 1/2 inch in length. Some leaflets were compressed laterally somewhat resembling the leaflets produced by mild strains of the cucumber mosaic virus. Flowers were normal in appearance but very few fruits and few seeds were produced. Internodes were somewhat shortened adding to the compactness of the plant.
Preliminary tests indicate the "mouse-eared" condition to be governed by a single incomplete dominant gene. Seed from the original plant produced seven (7) normal Rutgers plants and 11 "mouse-eared" plants. Seed from these normal plants continued to produce normal plants while seed from some of the second generation "mouse-eared" plants bred'true for this "mouse- eared" condition and some continued to segregate. A sufficient number of individuals have not been observed to arrive at a definite genetic ratio.