ISHS Acta Horticulturae 807: International Symposium on Strategies Towards Sustainability of Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climate
COMPARISON AMONG HEIRLOOMS AND HYBRIDS OF 'CUORE DI BUE' TOMATO: A GLOBAL APPROACH TO QUALITY EVALUATION |
| Authors: | P. Sambo, A. Brigi, S. Bona, M. Giannini, A. Marangon, T. Zanini |
| Keywords: | Solanum lycopersicum, sensory analysis, chemical traits, global quality |
| Abstract:
When dealing with old, typical cultivars of a certain crop, we are often facing with the problem of attributing an intrinsic value to these crops. The classical solution is to identify specific differences between the old and the new (sometime hybrids) varieties from an analytical point of view. This is not the main concern because the ancient ones are usually known for their taste and smell. Furthermore, the new varieties are developed for giving best yield performances. Typical is the case of the tomato "Cuor di bue", a very appreciate Italian heirloom tomato; many efforts have been made to increase the productivity and the extrinsic characteristics of this variety mainly selecting hybrids. Nowadays several different varieties of this tomato type are present on the Italian markets, but very little is known on their quality. For these reasons, a field experiment has been carried out to evaluate, at the same time, the agronomic, chemical and sensory characteristics of 8 different varieties of "Cuor di bue" tomato (4 hybrids and 4 conventional varieties). The experiment, which was carried out in unheated plastic greenhouses, was replicated in two farms, with 3 replicates (blocks) per farm. Chemical and sensory analyses were made on 3 harvests (beginning, middle and late of the harvest period). The hybrids showed better yields than the conventional varieties but there was a significant interaction with the two environments so it was impossible to identify the best genotype. The chemical quality parameters measured did not show any relevant difference among the cultivars, demonstrating a relative stability of the genotypes (heirlooms and hybrids). Moreover, the sensory parameters did not show better performances of the heirlooms because of the relative long time between the harvest and the test for simulating a common shelf life. | |
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