Abstract
An experiment was carried out to evaluate performances of four tomato varieties (Bishola, Eshet, Marglobe and Moneymaker) harvested at ripe stage from greenhouse and open field condition at Jimma for post-harvest quality characters (total soluble solid, weight loss, titratable acidity, sugar-acid ratio, and pH). Bishola and Eshet had better chemical quality characteristics maintained throughout the end of the storage period. Varieties grown under open field condition showed highest fruit weight loss. The total soluble solid (TSS) values the open field grown tomatoes had highest than greenhouse grown tomatoes throughout storage period. The heighest TSS was obtained at 14 days storage while the lowest was at harvest. Titratable acidity of tomatoes after harvest tended to decrease throughout the storage period. Bishola had highest titratable acidity when compared with Eshet. There was increase in sugar/acid ratio throughout storage time for greenhouse growing condition, under open field condition there is a slight increment and rapid after harvest and then decrease at 14 days the storage period. This indicates that Greenhouse grown tomatoes have good flavor than open field grown. Tomato varieties grown under greenhouse condition were less weight loss, and higher sugar acid ratio and less prone to physical injuries than fruits of grown under open field condition. Variety Eshet and Bishola could be selected in maintaining better overall quality characteristics. Key words: Tomato, variety, storage period, greenhouse.
Highlights
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most widely eaten vegetable crop in the world
The present study showed that varieties grown in greenhouse record less weight loss than the varieties grow under open field condition throughout the storage period
Variety Eshet grown under open field recorded the highest weight loss throughout the storage period
Summary
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most widely eaten vegetable crop in the world. Dry matter content of a tomato such as vitamin C, lycopene and potassium are affected by genotype and growing environment. Other subsequent factors that determine the quality of fruits and vegetables include the harvesting methods, biological maturity postharvest environment, handling and storage conditions (Kader, 2008). The ripening processes and storage temperature have a direct effect on chemical and nutritional composition of tomatoes (Sahlin et al, 2004). Taste attributes such as sweetness, acidity and fruity-floral flavour increase with tomato maturity. In addition to genotypic influence, dry matter content (acidity, vitamin C and lycopene) of tomatoes is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature light intensity and humidity. This study was initiated to test the effect of variety and growing environment at different storage period, on the quality of tomato
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