Tomato

Depending on the market requirements, tomato type and the end-use of the fruit decide the goals of the tomato fruit set and weight.

Tomato blotchy (uneven) ripening is greenish, yellow areas or blotches on the tomato fruit, normally confined to the outer walls. These areas of the fruit have low concentrations of organic acids, dry matter, total solids, starch, sugars and nitrogenous compounds. It can be confused with the visual symptoms of Tomato or Tobacco Mosaic Virus.

A balanced crop nutrition can help preventing several physical disorders in tomatoes.

Tomato Gold Spot (Speck) are small spots on the shoulder of the fruit, giving them a dull appearance and decreasing tomato shelf life. High humidity and direct sunlight on the fruit will further encourage gold spot.

Tomato russeting are brown, hair-like cracks in the cuticle, which start to occur at the beginning of maturation. It is often linked with very humid greenhouse environments and reduces fruit shelf life. Crop nutrition can help to avoid russeting.

Tomato cracking can appear due to extreme fluctuations in water supply and temperature. It is more common on soil-grown crops and can be avoided by maintaining a consistent soil moisture status. Crop nutrition affects tomato cracking as well.

Tomato cracking can appear due to extreme fluctuations in water supply and temperature. It is more common on soil-grown crops and can be avoided by maintaining a consistent soil moisture status. Crop nutrition affects tomato cracking as well.

Blossom end rot in tomato is a brown/black scar at the base or blossom end of the fruit. It is often a result of moisture stress, calcium deficiency(less than 0.08% Ca in dry matter), excess ammonium or a combination of all three.

Fresh tomatoes should be of uniform shape, symmetry and size. For processed products, various countries have different acceptable size ranges. In Spain, for example, fruits used for juice usually weigh between 60–100g. For canning as whole tomatoes, fruits are within the 30–60g weight range.

The specific carotenoid, lycopene provides the tomato fruit with its red color. Higher levels of beta-carotene provide an orange color. Tomatoes need to be bright and uniform in color, without green shoulders or immature green spots or blotches.

Flavor is generally related to the relative concentrations of sugars and acids in the fruit, mainly fructose and citric acid. The best, most flavorsome combination is a high sugar and high acid content.

A balanced crop nutrition throughout root development, early growth, flowering and fruiting is fundamental in achieving high marketable tomato yields. High field yields are obtained on freely drained soils where water is not limiting.

During the later stages of growth it is particularly important to ensure that environmental and growth constraints do not limit quality potential. For example, the resultant color, aroma, flavor and texture are all established at this stage of development.