Meet 'Scarlet Sunrise', The New Type Of Tomato Developed By New Jersey Researchers
New Jersey has long held bragging rights for producing some of the best tomatoes anywhere, thanks to the Garden State's sandy soil and tomato-friendly climate. The tomato is even the state vegetable. Now Rutgers, New Jersey's state university, has developed a crack-resistant, bi-color grape tomato that could further cement the state's stellar tomato reputation. Welcome, 'Scarlet Sunrise'! The tomato got its name when a member of the research team said it looked like a sunrise. The "scarlet" portion is a nod to Rutgers' school color.
To create 'Scarlet Sunrise', researchers used traditional (non-GMO) plant-breeding methods to cross-breed a flavorful red grape tomato with a bi-color heirloom cherry tomato – 'Isis Candy' – that tended to crack. The work involved hundreds of plants and fine-detail manipulations, using tweezers and tiny brushes to pollinate minuscule tomato flowers. Setbacks along the way included a frustrating path to achieve the bi-color characteristic. The pandemic was also an obstacle since the new tomato was intended to be released in 2020.
Scarlet sunrise was developed with flavor in mind
Having researched people's tomato-flavor preferences through tasting events since the 1990s, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers focused on flavor as they spent 10 years developing scarlet sunrise. The flavor of the new tomato is said to start out intensely sweet followed by a moderately acidic pop, making it great for snack. Co-developer Peter Nitzsche said in a TV interview that the researchers wanted to develop a unique, flavorful grape tomato that people could recognize by its look. The result was a fruit with "branded" packaging in the form of its two colors — a golden sunset color and a red-toned blush.
Scarlet sunrise is a high-yielding, open-pollinated, indeterminate tomato plant. Tomatoes mature at mid to late season. Scarlet sunrise seeds are not yet available to purchase, but Rutgers is collaborating with a seed company and aiming at spring 2026 availability.