📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bityug F1
- 🌍 Origin: A commercial F1 hybrid bred by the Russian seed company Gavrish. It is officially registered for homesteads and small farms.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but generally well-behaved and medium-tall. Bred specifically for growing under plastic (high tunnels/greenhouses). It boasts a fantastic disease resistance package, including resistance to TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus), Leaf Mold, and Fusarium wilt.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Classic red, firm, oblate slicers. They are highly uniform and marketable, typically weighing around 7–8 oz (198–227 g).
- 👅 Flavor & Yield: As a commercial hybrid, it is an absolute workhorse that sets fruit reliably even in tough conditions. While the official registry rates the flavor as “excellent,” home growers often find it fairly average unless the tomatoes are left to fully vine-ripen for a couple of weeks after turning red.
Here is the official hybrid description:
“The Bityug F1 tomato is included in the State Register of the Russian Federation for home gardens, homesteads, and small farms for cultivation under plastic shelters (high tunnels). Slicer variety. Mid-early. Fruit ripening begins 113-114 days after full emergence. The plant is indeterminate, medium height, with moderate branching and medium foliage. Leaves are medium-sized, dark green. Simple, compact blossom trusses. The first truss is formed above the 9th leaf, subsequent ones every 3 leaves. The fruit is oblate, slightly ribbed, and firm. Unripe color is light green, mature color is red. 4 or more locules. Fruit weight is 7–8 oz (198-227 g). Flavor is excellent. Marketable yield is 1.6–2.0 lbs/sq ft (8-10 kg/sq.m). Resistant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Cladosporium (Leaf Mold), and Fusarium wilt.
PROS OF BITYUG F1: High yield and marketability, large fruit size, great taste, disease resistance.
Breeder: Gavrish”
Mine turned out a bit smaller this year (but to be fair, we had a terrible drought at the start of the season).
Here is a photo of the sliced fruit and the whole plant. Honestly, the taste is pretty average. But it sets fruit like crazy! 😲 I already have 5 trusses fully loaded. So if you’re just looking for pure yield, this is a very solid hybrid.
I did read recently though that commercial hybrids need to hang on the vine for at least two weeks after coloring up. Supposedly, only after that extended vine-ripening does their flavor actually change for the better. We’ll wait and see.
