Intuitively, what you are saying should hold true -- less chlorophyll => less solar energy production for the plant. Of course the breeders who are hoping to eventually sell these things are rather cagey about making that kind of declaration.JayPoc wrote:I'm thinking this through....the white areas clearly are devoid of chlorophyll. This means no photosynthesis happens in those regions. Do those plants grow and produce as well as no variegated?
IF my limited observation of my different levels of variegated Fish pepper plants is any indication, then the variegated types/segregates will be shorter and less productive. In the past, variegated foliage houseplants I've grown -- like spider plant, peperomia, rubber plant, ficus benjamina, monstera, etc. -- needed brighter light and more feeding than non-variegated of the same species. With tomatoes, I think I might be seeing more susceptibility to foliage disease and pest infestation -- which makes sense if pests tend to go after damaged and/or stressed plants.
If I remember correctly, the previously existing or known variegated tomato varieties like Splash of Cream and Variegata, I think, only produced small spitter fruits (but this is just my impression, I might be wrong) -- and I don't know exactly the circumstances or origin varieties of those, so Faelan's First Snow with possible Cherokee Purple origin and type of fruit has a huge genetic advantage.
This year, I'm hoping to grow Faelan's First Snow to its potential -- not in a small container or mistakenly selected mediocre garden location -- so it will be interesting to see what kind of production I get. Hmmm maybe I'll try putting one in a SIP