Abstract
The tomato is the most important vegetable globally. In England, outdoor tomatoes are widely grown by amateur gardeners, with the number of their allotment plots exceeding 150000. For instance, in Germany, only about 16% of tomato plants are cultivated according to organic standards, although these rates are expected to increase. Breeding for yield and fruit quality can increase resource efficiency. Therefore, we need to evaluate the variability of yield and fruit quality parameters, to calculate the heritability of these traits and to identify superior genotypes for organic outdoor tomato production and breeding. With these aims, we grew 24 tomato genotypes of diverse origins in a two-year field trial. The heritability of quality traits such as glucose, fructose, organic acid, and lycopene was high. The medium heritability for yield suggests that trials with a larger number of locations are needed for the reliable selection of this character. Negative correlations of sugar concentrations with fruit weight and of organic acid concentration with fruit weight and yield suggest trade-offs in breeding for larger fruits and higher yields. Breeding for increased lycopene content is not subject to these challenges; the concentrations of the primary metabolite sugars and organic acids are positively correlated.
Highlights
The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the most important vegetable globally and in Europe [1]
The cultivar Resi was selected as the parent because of its excellent fruit quality and moderate resistance against P. infestans, despite its being low-yielding
Phantasia F1 was selected as a parent because of its high yield and its high level of resistance against P. infestans, despite its poor fruit quality
Summary
The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the most important vegetable globally and in Europe [1]. At present, organic production relies to a large extent on crop cultivars from conventional high-input breeding backgrounds [16] These cultivars may lack important traits required for stabilizing superior growth and yield when exposed to a suboptimal supply of nutrients and to increased stress by pests and pathogens in organic and/or low-input production [17,18,19] or when grown in home gardens. The objectives of the study presented here were (i) to evaluate the variability of yield and fruit quality parameters in organic outdoor production, (ii) to calculate the heritability of these traits, (iii) to estimate the potential for successful selection based on the available genetic variability, and (iv) to identify superior genotypes for organic tomato production and breeding
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