Abstract
Tomatoes are one of the most nutritionally and economically important crops in New Zealand and around the world. Tomatoes require large amounts of water to grow well and are adversely affected by drought stress. However, few studies have evaluated the physicochemical characteristics of commercial tomatoes grown under water stress conditions. Four tomato cultivars (Incas, Marmande, Scoresby Dwarf, and Window Box Red) were grown in a greenhouse under well-watered and drought stress conditions and the tomatoes were harvested when ripe. The physicochemical properties and antioxidant contents of the fruits were compared. There were significant differences between cultivars in quality characteristics—such as dry matter, total soluble solids, and pH parameters—but there were no differences in the quality characteristics between the two treatments of the fruits (p > 0.05); however, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the antioxidant compositions (lycopene, total phenolics, and flavonoids) and antioxidant activities (DPPH and ABTS) of the fruits of both cultivars and treatments. Overall, these results indicated that tomatoes increased their bioactive compounds without changing any quality characteristics when exposed to water stress conditions.
Highlights
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) belong to the Solanaceae family, which contains about2800 species and are one of the most important vegetables and economically important crops inNew Zealand and around the world [1]
These results indicated that tomatoes increased their bioactive compounds without changing any quality characteristics when exposed to water stress conditions
The aims of this study were to: (i) characterise the response of different cultivars of tomatoes grown under drought stress; and (ii) investigate the effect of drought stress on the dry matter (DM), total soluble solids (TSS), pH, and antioxidant contents of the fruits that are important from the point of view of fruit quality
Summary
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) belong to the Solanaceae family, which contains about2800 species and are one of the most important vegetables and economically important crops inNew Zealand and around the world [1]. In New Zealand, fresh tomatoes are primarily grown in greenhouses and the tomato fruits are produced almost all year round [2]. Tomatoes are important constituents of human diets; they contain about 94% water, 2.5% total sugars, 2% total fibre, 1% proteins, and other nutritional compounds (acids, lipids, amino acids, and carotenoids) [3]. Tomatoes contain high levels of other bioactive compounds such as phenolics, vitamin C, and provitamin A, which are thought to protect and possibly prevent cancer [4]. Lycopene has strong in vitro and in vivo antioxidant properties [5]. Lycopene and the other active compounds in tomatoes—such as total phenolic contents, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, and total flavonoids—have interested many researchers because of their biological and physicochemical properties, especially their natural antioxidant compounds and human health benefits. Tomatoes are highly sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature, light, and changes in irrigation throughout the growth of the plant [6]
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