Effect of cultivar and growing medium on the fruit quality attributes and antioxidant properties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the growing medium that yielded the highest nutritional quality and longest marketable shelf life in tomato fruits. ‘TY Megaton’ and ‘Yureka’ cultivars were grown on soil and coir pith in the same climate-controlled glasshouse using a standard nutrient solution and the recommended cultivation practices. Fruits were harvested at the pink stage of ripening and stored at 12 °C in 85 ± 5% relative humidity for 20 days. The fruits of both cultivars grown on either growing medium were of acceptable quality for sale after 3 weeks of storage. The contents of the most important secondary metabolites of tomato responsible for providing their antioxidant activity (ascorbic acid, lycopene, and polyphenols) were not significantly affected by the choice of growing medium; however, significant differences were observed between the cultivars throughout the storage period. The results of this study demonstrated that the choice of cultivar is more important for fruit quality than the growing medium. The lycopene content and antioxidant activity of the fruits suggest that it is possible to achieve optimum nutrition from the pink-stage fruit of both cultivars after 12 days of storage, irrespective of the growing medium used.