THE BREEDING OF TOMATOES FOR PEELING

The main characters typifying the tomatoes for peeling are defined (shape, size and colour), together with the other parameters of the fresh (pH, consistency and peeling easiness) and processed fruits (strained product, wholeness and organoleptic characters), which are of specific importance for the product quality.

Because in several areas at the maximum fruit colour corrispond a pH value and a ratio sugar/acidity too high, some possibilities are indicated to improve the fruit colour through genes modifying the fruit colour directly or indirectly by a better leaf/fruit ratio.

The quality parametere are greatly influenced by environments, so that different scoring systems must be used in the breeding programmes in the different areas.

The influence of the maturational effects on the main characters of the peeling tomatoes are shown; also at the harvesting time in varieties with a concentrated fruit-set there is still an intra-plant variability among apparentely similar fruits.
The consequences of such influences on the breeding programmes are indicated, as regards an adequate sampling and the selection procedure in the early generations.

Symposium on Production of Tomatoes for Processing

L.M. Monti

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1980.100.34