ISHS Acta Horticulturae 412: I International Symposium on Solanacea for Fresh Market
IMPROVED TOMATO FRUIT QUALITY BY DESIGN |
| Author: | G.E Hobson |
| Keywords: | Lypersicon esculentum, yield, taste, flavour, colour, softening |
| Abstract:
In addition to year-round supplies of standard tomatoes, the consumer in Europe is increasingly provided with a range of other sizes of fruit for more specialized culinary uses. Refinements to highintensity growing techniques continue to increase yield, but the major emphasis is still on visual quality, with flavour often remaining as a secondary consideration. While conventional breeding has provided cultivars which are better received by consumers, this is often at the expense of a small reduction in yield. Alternatively, the conductivity of crop nutirients for any cultivar can be manipulated to promote taste and flavour components, again with some degree of yield-loss. Grading and transport of chilled fruit is seen as a way of reducing impact damage and overripening during marketing. However, exposure to low temperatures has a deleterious effect on quality. New instruments designed to give a simplified picture of volatile compound production by tomato fruit are becoming available. The formation of hybrids between non-ripening mutants and normal lines can lead to the development of new selections in which firmness is preserved and shelflife extended. DNA antisense technology can also be applied for the same porpuses. As more becomes known about ways to control both composition and textures to tomatoes, molecular biology will be used to improve both quality and product-life in the future. The release in the EEC of genetically-manipulated tomatoes after processing is going ahead, and could be followed bt fresh-market lines when regulations are in place. | |
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