Rizzi Softball Plum

Plum tomato. Indeterminate growth habit with regular leaves. Cylindrical fruit, often with a pointed end. Slight ribbing at stem end. Radial cracking rare. Fruit borne in clusters of 3-6. Market mature fruit measure 3.3-4.3" long, 2.4-3.2" wide, and weigh 5.24-10.8oz. Flavor is bright and floral with a nice acidity. High vigor and moderate productivity when grown in 2023 at Heritage Farm. With its origins in the Apulia region of southeastern Italy, this variety made its way to the US when the Rizzi family of the town of Barletta immigrated following WWI. Once established as shoemakers in Endicott, New York, in the early 1920s, Vito Antonio Rizzi (1897-1983) wrote to his sister Immacolata, who had remained in Italy, “Mandami I semi di Pomodoro”—“Send me the tomato seeds”. She did so, hiding them in the glue of an envelope closure to avoid detection at the Post Office. Vito gave seed to his son Luciano “Lou” Rizzi (1935-2019) who gave it to his niece Regina (Rizzi) Santore of Knoxville, TN, in 2010. Regina donated this variety to SSE in 2022. SSE Accession # 133886