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Arkansas State Fruit & Vegetable

South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato Genus Lycopersicon Adopted:



Arkansas State Fruit & Vegetable: South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato

ALLPOSTERSURL Arkansas State Fruit & Vegetable: South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink TomatoALLPOSTERSURL

Tomatoes are not native to Arkansas, but in the 1920s commercial growers began to grow them in south Arkansas. Then, during the 1950s a fresh-market industry began to grow around Warren in Bradley County (Land of tall pines and pink tomatoes).

In 1956 a group of citizens in Warren, the small town in southeastern Arkansas, came together to organize a festival to honor the local tomato crop commonly referred to as the Bradley pink. Lacking a yellow pigment, the Bradley pink was a pink tomato named for Bradley County, one of the principle tomato growing counties in the state.

The small festival, the Bradley County Pink Tomato FestivalTM, continues to this day and is billed as "one of the oldest continuous running festivals in the state of Arkansas." 1 Celebrated on the second full weekend in June, the festival celebrated its 60th year in 2016.

In 1961, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville released a variety of tomato formally registered as the "Bradley Pink." The Bradley Pink was resistant to fusarium wilt, a soil-borne fungal disease, and sported the distinctive pink color so recognized and revered by Arkansans. Improved varieties followed.

Unfortunately, as the demands of large grocery store chains and expanding and more distant markets increased, Arkansas farmers were forced into providing the red fleshed fruits with the thicker skins and longer ripening times that the markets required. By the mid-eighties most of the south Arkansas farmers had shifted from the pink varieties to red varieties; the "Mountain" varieties developed at North Carolina State University.

It was around this time that the will to promote and re-establish the reputation of the vine-ripened pink tomatoes of Arkansas coalesced into efforts to designate the fruit an official symbol of the state. At the time, Arkansas had already adopted a number of symbols, including an official floral emblem, an official rock, and an official musical instrument, in addition to a state seal and state flag.

The Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival� had been staged for over thirty years when State Representative John Lipton brought House Bill No. 1480 to the floor of the House of Representatives. Rep. Lipton represented the citizens of Bradley County in the state legislature.

House Bill No. 1480 passed a full vote of the House of Representatives in February, 1987. Rep. Lipton promised 20 pounds of tomatoes to each Representative who voted for the measure. It's not clear to us if Rep. Lipton ever made good on his promise to his colleagues in the House.

After passing in the Arkansas Senate, House Bill No. 1480 was signed into law by Governor Bill Clinton on March 16, 1987. By Act No. 255 of the Regular Session of the 1987 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, the South Arkansas vine ripe pink tomato was made the official state fruit and the official state vegetable of Arkansas.

State of Arkansas 76th General Assembly Regular Session, 1987 HOUSE BILL 1480 By: Representative Lipton "AN ACT TO DESIGNATE THE SOUTH ARKANSAS VINE RIPE PINK TOMATO AS THE STATE FRUIT AND THE STATE VEGETABLE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES." BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: SECTION 1. It is hereby found and determined by the General Assembly that the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato has a taste, texture, appearance and aroma second to none, and that the tomato is botanically a fruit and used as a vegetable. It is furthermore determined by the General Assembly that Arkansas does not have a State Fruit or a State Vegetable. Therefore, the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato shall hereafter be the official State Fruit and the official State Vegetable. SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed. APPROVED: 3/16/87

A little more than one half of Arkansas tomato production is provided by the southeastern counties of Bradley, Ashley, and Drew. Today, these tomatoes are overwhelmingly red varieties with slower ripening times and damage resistant thicker skins that are currently demanded by large grocery store chains. However, Arkansans can still find the official state fruit and vegetable at local farmer's markets and produce stands in season. And Arkansans can still enjoy the delicate flavor and texture of their vine-ripened pink tomatoes.

The question always comes up. Why was the tomato made both the official fruit and the official vegetable of Arkansas?

Botanically, the tomato is considered a fruit but consumers commonly think of it and use it as a vegetable. In fact, a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1893 regarding taxation, declared that the tomato could be taxed as a vegetable. Because of conflicting characterizations of the tomato, the sponsoring legislation - House Bill No. 1480 - adopted the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato as both the official state fruit and the official state vegetable of Arkansas. You can read all of the details here.

Presumably, the duel designation would leave no room for argument.

When Ohio designated the tomato as one of their state symbols, legislators adopted it as the official state fruit as did Tennessee.

Louisiana, in a compromise measure, adopted the Creole tomato as their official state vegetable plant and, at the same time, named the sweet potato their official state vegetable.

By the way, in keeping with a somewhat interesting pattern, Louisiana has adopted the strawberry - botanically a berry - as their official state fruit and the Mayhew fruit tree as their official state fruit tree.