Enhancement of tomato hedonic quality through fertiliser supplementation with a biostimulant complex comprising molasses, Aloe vera extract and fish-hydrolysate

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a popular fruit, grown worldwide for its culinary usages in fresh, processed and cooked foods. Additionally, consumption of tomato fruit is associated with health benefits due to their functional food properties. The signature hedonic measures of tomato fruits are their flavour, aroma and colour, which function as drivers of consumer perception of quality and are therefore associated with purchasing habits. Accordingly, there is interest in strategies to enhance these hedonic measures through supplementation of fertiliser regimens with biostimulants, which have demonstrated improvements to hedonic measures of other food crops. Herein, tomatoes were grown hydroponically with and without supplementation of a biostimulant complex (BC) comprising molasses, Aloe vera extract and fish-hydrolysate. Results identified significant increases in flower and fruit count (1.68-fold, p = 0.033), improvements to the hedonic measures of overall mouthfeel (p = 0.022) and overall visual assessment (p = 0.005), however decreased flavonoid content (0.61-fold, p = 0.022). Accordingly, supplementation of tomato growth with BC was associated with enhancements to the quantity and hedonic quality of tomato at the cost of functional food quality. These findings support the utilisation of biostimulants to enhance food goods’ cultivation and quality perception.