Mini Tomato Research Articles

Daily Monitoring of Ripening Processes of a Tomato Using an Original Handheld Visible–Near-Infrared Spectrometer

A handheld visible- and shortwave near-infrared spectrometer has been developed for monitoring daily changes in fruits and vegetables. The ripening processes of a mini tomato sample have been monitored daily for about 100 days by this instrument and color values L*a*b* and Brix were measured. Obtained reflection spectra in the 400–1050 nm range were converted to absorption spectra and daily changes of band areas of chlorophyll a (Ch1 a; 640–710 nm), carotenoids (460–520 nm), lycopene (545–600 nm), and water + sugar (920–1050 nm) were determined. The band area of lycopene increased rapidly from 36 to 44 days associated with the increase in a* value, indicating that the increase in the reddish color originated from the increase of lycopene. On the other hand, the band area of Chl a decreased exponentially over 100 days. This Chl a decrease could be well fitted by the first-order reaction giving the rate constant k = 4.07 × 10–7 s–1. These quantitative daily changes of pigments in fruits and vegetables are expected to provide comprehensive bases for their cultivation and harvest.

Algae‐based biostimulants increase yield and quality of mini tomatoes under protected cultivation

AbstractBackgroundPlant biostimulants are organic products primarily based on algae, microorganisms, fulvic and humic acids, proteins, and amino acids, which improve physiological plant performance, leading to increased crop productivity. In this work, commercial algae extract of Ascophyllum nodosum were sprayed on Sweet Heaven mini tomato variety [algae extract 0.5 L ha−1 (AE1) and 2 L ha−1 (AE2); aqueous solution prepared with A. nodosum powder at 1% (w/v) (DA1) and 3% (w/v) (DA2)] growing under greenhouse conditions.ResultsAlgae treatment significantly affected the yield, diameter, length, color, and Brix degree of the fruits. Fruit volume and weight and the number of cracked fruits did not change. The treatment of mini tomato plants with DA1 led to a higher fruit yield compared to other treatments and untreated plants.ConclusionTherefore, A. nodosum extract can be an interesting sustainable practice to increase the productivity of mini tomatoes growing under protected conditions.

In-vitro culture techniques of mini tomato for genomic study preparation

Mini tomato cv. Micro-Tom is a plant favored by researchers because it has a shortlife cycle and small in size so that it becomes a practical plant and is suitable for representingresearch on tomato plants or other plants of the Solanaceae family. Unlike ordinary tomatoplants which are large, take up space to grow, and sometimes have a long life cycle, makingordinary tomato plants a plant that is not so easy to handle. For that reason, the mini tomato isnow described as a laboratory tomato. The aim of research is prepared mini tomato forgenomic study. The research was conducted at Politeknik Negeri Lampung Tissue CultureLaboratory from April to September 2020. The material used for this research was mini tomatoseeds. The explants used for the multiplication in this study were the cotyledons. These studiesused macro elements, microelements, tomato vitamins, CaCl2, and FeSO4. EDTA to makeMurashige and Skoog (MS) media, co-cultivation media, and callus induction media, shootinduction media, and root induction media for generated tomato plants. We successfullydeveloped a mini tomato until final root induction. The result of these studies will use forgenomic study (next research).

Effect of Transgenic Rootstock Grafting on the Omics Profiles in Tomato.

Grafting of non-transgenic scion onto genetically modified (GM) rootstocks provides superior agronomic traits in the GM rootstock, and excellent fruits can be produced for consumption. In such grafted plants, the scion does not contain any foreign genes, but the fruit itself is likely to be influenced directly or indirectly by the foreign genes in the rootstock. Before market release of such fruit products, the effects of grafting onto GM rootstocks should be determined from the perspective of safety use. Here, we evaluated the effects of a transgene encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS) on the grafted tomato fruits as a model case. An edible tomato cultivar, Stella Mini Tomato, was grafted onto GM Micro-Tom tomato plants that had been transformed with the GUS gene. The grafted plants showed no difference in their fruit development rate and fresh weight regardless of the presence or absence of the GUS gene in the rootstock. The fruit samples were subjected to transcriptome (NGS-illumina), proteome (shotgun LC-MS/MS), metabolome (LC-ESI-MS and GC-EI-MS), and general food ingredient analyses. In addition, differentially detected items were identified between the grafted plants onto rootstocks with or without transgenes (more than two-fold). The transcriptome analysis detected approximately 18,500 expressed genes on average, and only 6 genes were identified as differentially expressed. Principal component analysis of 2,442 peaks for peptides in proteome profiles showed no significant differences. In the LC-ESI-MS and GC-EI-MS analyses, a total of 93 peak groups and 114 peak groups were identified, respectively, and only 2 peak groups showed more than two-fold differences. The general food ingredient analysis showed no significant differences in the fruits of Stella scions between GM and non-GM Micro-Tom rootstocks. These multiple omics data showed that grafting on the rootstock harboring the GUS transgene did not induce any genetic or metabolic variation in the scion.

Multivariate techniques in the determination of genetic diversity in pest-resistant mini tomato genotypes

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to compare methods of multivariate analysis on the evaluation of genetic diversity of mini tomato and to identify promising genotypes with resistance to pests. The experiment was conducted at the Vegetable Experiment Station of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Monte Carmelo campus, from April 2013 to November 2016. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 16 treatments and four replications totaling 64 plots, and each plot represented by five plants. Sixteen genotypes were characterized, 12 from the F2RC1 generation, obtained through the interspecific crossing between the wild access LA-716 (Solanum pennellii) and pre-commercial lines of mini tomato (UFU-73 and UFU-2) (Solanum lycopersicum) and the UFU-2 lines. The content of acyl sugar, the amount of glandular trichomes (types I, IV, VI and VII), twospotted spider mite and whitefly resistance were evaluated. We concluded that there exist genetic variability between the genotypes. The number of groups formed by the canonical variated analysis was higher (four groups) than that obtained by the Tocher method (three groups) and UPGMA (three groups), demonstrating a greater discrimination power. The Tocher and UPGMA methods were consistent in the analysis of the genetic divergence in pest resistant germplasm of tomato, with the acyl sugar content being the most important variable. Genotype UFU-73-F2RC1 # 11 is resistant to pest attack, while the other studied lines have intermediate resistance.

ミニトマトジュースが「地粉(中力粉)パンの製パン性」に与える影響

ミニトマトジュースが「地粉(中力粉)パンの製パン性」に与える影響

Solar radiation threshold and growth of mini tomato plants in mild autumn/winter condition

Abstract The value 8.46 MJ m−2 d−1 is generally indicated as the radiation threshold for vegetable crops in tropical and subtropical climates. However, several studies indicate that mini tomato plants can be cultivated in greenhouse under lower solar radiation conditions. Therefore, the establishment of the actual radiation threshold for this group of tomatoes is necessary. The objective of this study was to define the relative influence of solar radiation and temperature on plant growth, and determine the lowest value of incoming global solar radiation inside the greenhouse by which there is a significant plant dry matter accumulation in the mild autumn/winter of southern Brazil. Mini tomato plants of hybrids Cherry Wanda® and Grape Dolcetto® were grown in NFT hydroponic system. Nineteen plant samples were collected periodically to obtain plant dry matter, leaf area, number of leaves, plant height and absolute and relative growth rates. The variables were related to the data of incoming global solar radiation and temperature inside the greenhouse. The results were submitted to analyses of variance, regression and clustering test. Cherry and Grape plants presented similar responses to the variation of solar radiation and temperature. However, Cherry plants presented greater leaf area and growth under these conditions. Temperature had an indirect influence on plant growth, while incoming solar radiation presented a direct influence on all evaluated variables. The solar radiation threshold for both cultivars of mini tomato was 3.63 MJ m−2 d−1.

Minitomato cultivation with substrate under different fertigation management strategies

ABSTRACT The application of high level of fertilization and inadequate management of fertigation in tomato crop can promote increase of salinity of the solution, nutritional imbalance and physiological disorders in the plants, consequently reduces the productivity and the quality of the fruits. The aim of this study was to evaluate different fertigation strategies in growth and production of mini tomato plants cultivated with substrate in a greenhouse. The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks with four treatments and twenty replicates. The treatments corresponded to four fertigation strategies, as follows: T1 [(control) fertigation with leaching of 20%]; T2 fertigation throughout the day and irrigation at the end of the day with leaching of 20%; T3 irrigation with leaching of 20%, followed by fertigation in all activations of the irrigation system; T4 fertigation with leaching of 20% and reuse of the leached solution. Stem height and diameter, number of clusters, total and commercial fruit production, fruit size, fruit color, total titratable acidity, soluble solids content and fruit texture were evaluated. No significant differences were detected among the treatments in relation to the growth variables of the mini tomato plants. The strategies of fertigation tested do not influence significantly the growth of tomato plants. The T1 and T4 managements provide higher commercial production and fruits with higher content of soluble solids when compared with other management strategies evaluated. Considering the nutritional factor, we recommend to reuse the nutrient solution used in the tomato cultivation with substrate, correcting daily the electrical conductivity of the solution.

Stem conduction systems effect on the production and quality of mini tomato under organic management

ABSTRACT This research evaluated the influence of stem conduction types on the production and physicochemical characteristics of tomato fruits (hybrid Coco, mini type) under organic management. The experiment was conducted between August 2013 and January 2014. The treatments consisted of 4 different conduction systems: 2 traditional stems; 2 stems emerging from axillary cotyledon buds (“bottom stem”); 3 “traditional” stems and 4 stems emerging from tip pruning. Eleven harvests were conducted from 22nd November 2013 to 31st January 2014. Data collected included fruit number per plant, yields (g∙plant−1), fruit physicochemical characteristics, average weight, fruit diameter, pH, titratable acidity (TA), soluble solids (SS), SS/TA ratio, reducing sugars, ascorbic acid, lycopene, β-carotene, chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b. Stem conduction types did not affect fruit yields per plant (g∙plant−1). However, the greater number of stems resulted in more fruits per plant, but the fruit produced had a smaller diameter and average weight. The treatments with more stems also showed higher fruit lycopene levels, TA, and reducing sugars. Thus, under similar growing conditions, it may be recommended that organic mini tomatoes be pruned with 3 or 4 stems to increase the number of fruits per plant.

Hepatoprotective effects of different combinations of sweet orange, Unshiu mikan, and mini tomato juice powders againsttert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of raw mini tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) juice powder to attenuate cytotoxicity in combination with juice powders from two orange species [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck and Citrus unshiu Marcow]. To this end, the hepatoprotective activities of these combinations against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells were evaluated, and the most suitable ratios for optimal flavonoid availability were identified. The levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) and the extent of upregulation of phase-ІІ proteins such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were quantified to assess the hepatoprotective effects of four different ratios of these powders. Three main compounds–hesperidin, narirutin, and rutin were analyzed by simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatography. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the 2:1:3 powder mixture were 8.69 mg/g GAE and 2.56 mg/g QE, respectively. The levels of these contents were correlated with the decrease in ROS, increase in GSH level, and restoration of HO-1. Furthermore, the hepatoprotective efficacy of each of the four ratios was attributed to its flavonoid content. These results indicate that combinations of juice powders, particularly at a ratio of 2:1:3, are a potentially useful therapeutic source of phenolic compounds for the treatment of oxidative stress-related hepatotoxicity. Practical applications Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.), Unshiu mikan (Citrus unshiu Marcow) and mini tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are rich sources of phenolic compounds which are consumed frequently in Korea. This research provides proper understanding of the consumption of these fruits in combination to deliver effective amount of phenolic compounds to promote human health and fight against oxidative stress related diseases. The present study demonstrates the hepatoprotective effect through prevention of oxidative stress, suggesting that combinations of juice powders may have beneficial effects in preventing hepatic diseases.

Mini tomato genotypes resistant to the silverleaf whitefly and to two-spotted spider mites.

The mini tomato production has expanded, becoming an amazing alternative for enterprise. Despite all commercial potential, the cultivation has the occurrence of pests as main obstacle during the crop development. Nowadays, there are no researches that aimed obtaining genotypes with high acylsugar content, capable of providing a broad-spectrum resistance to pests. This study aimed the selection of mini tomato genotypes, with high acylsugar content, and checking the resistance level to the silverleaf whitefly [Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)] and to the two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae Koch). Sixteen genotypes were evaluated, from which 12 were on the generation F2BC1, originated from the interespecific cross between Solanum pennellii versus Solanum lycopersicum L. and 4 were check treatments, being three of cultivated tomatos (cv. Santa Clara, UFU-02, and UFU-73) and the wild accession LA-716 (S. pennellii). The variables analyzed were acylsugar content, repellency to the silverleaf whitefly, repellence to the two-spotted spider mites, and density of glandular trichomes. The genotypes UFU-22-F2BC1#9 and UFU-73-F2BC1#11 have high acylsugar content and both are resistant to the pests that were evaluated. New studies must be conducted seeking for inbred lines, obtained from the selected genotypes, aiming to get commercial hybrids with high acylsugar content.

Evaluation of microsporogenesis in accessions of Mini Tomato

Evaluation of microsporogenesis in accessions of Mini Tomato

MINI TOMATO CULTIVARS FOR THE SUB-MID SÃO FRANCISCO VALLEY, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT Two experiments were conducted in Petrolina, State of Pernambuco (PE), Brazil, in order to evaluate the performance of mini tomato cultivars under the conditions of the Sub-Mid São Francisco Valley. One on crops of the second half of the year (SH) from August to December 2012, and other on crops of the first half of the year (FH) from March to July 2013. Six mini tomato cultivars were evaluated in both seasons: E5663, Kada, F1170, Tanzimech, E1275 and Abirú. A randomized block experimental design was used, with four replications, arranged in split plot, with the growing seasons in the plots and cultivars in the subplots. The total and commercial fruit yield, soluble solid contents, fruit yield per plant, number of fruits per plant, and fruit fresh weight were evaluated. The total yield was higher in the FH, regardless of the cultivar used. The cultivar E5663 presented yield of 40.3 Mg ha-1 in the SH and 104.0 Mg ha-1 in the FH. Commercial yield, soluble solid content and yield per plant followed the same trend. The number of fruits per plant ranged from 390.8 to 941.4 (FH) and from 80.5 to 315.4 (SH). The cultivar E5663 presented the best yield and soluble solid content responses, thus, it may be recommended for the conditions of Petrolina PE, and can be adopted for planting in both seasons evaluated.

Protective Effects of Sweet Orange, Unshiu Mikan, and Mini Tomato Juice Powders on t-BHP-Induced Oxidative Stress in HepG2 Cells.

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of juice powders from sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck], unshiu mikan (Citrus unshiu Marcow), and mini tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and their major flavonoids, hesperidin, narirutin, and rutin in tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells. The increased reactive oxygen species and decreased glutathione levels observed in t-BHP-treated HepG2 cells were ameliorated by pretreatment with juice powders, indicating that the hepatoprotective effects of juice powders and their major flavonoids are mediated by induction of cellular defense against oxidative stress. Moreover, pretreatment with juice powders up-regulated phase-II genes such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), thereby preventing cellular damage and the resultant increase in HO-1 expression. The high-performance liquid chromatography profiles of the juice powders confirmed that hesperidin, narirutin, and rutin were the key flavonoids present. Our results suggest that these fruit juice powders and their major flavonoids provide a significant cytoprotective effect against oxidative stress, which is most likely due to the flavonoid-related bioactive compounds present, leading to the normal redox status of cells. Therefore, these fruit juice powders could be advantageous as bioactive sources for the prevention of oxidative injury in hepatoma cells.

Mini tomato production in organic system under greenhouse with partial control of meteorological elements

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to evaluate the meteorological elements of the environments and the production components of mini tomato crop in organic system in different forms of cultivation, biofertilizer doses and technological levels of protected environments. The research was conducted in completely randomized design in a 3 x 2 x 5 factorial scheme, corresponding to three greenhouses (A - climatized, B - mobile screen and C - fixed screen), two forms of cultivation (pots and beds) and five doses of a commercial biofertilizer (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200% of dose indicated), with five replicates. The treatments affected the analyzed variables, except for biofertilizer doses and interaction of treatments. Air temperature was unchanged among the environments and the mean and minimum relative humidity were within the control range in the climatized greenhouse. The greenhouse with mobile screen showed the best production results for the cultivation in beds and the biofertilizer doses were indifferent for all treatments.

Potencial agronômico de híbridos de minitomate com hábito de crescimento determinado e indeterminado

RESUMO: Pouco se sabe a respeito da influência do hábito de crescimento no desempenho agronômico de híbridos de minitomate. Diante disso, o objetivo do trabalho foi comparar o potencial agronômico de híbridos de minitomate, portadores do hábito de crescimento determinado versus indeterminado. O experimento foi conduzido em estufa plástica no Sítio São Roque, em Piracicaba-SP. Foi utilizado o delineamento em blocos casualizados com seis tratamentos (híbridos Rosso, Giallo, Verdi, Arancio, Candy e Mascot) e cinco repetições. A semeadura foi realizada em 27/02/2012, em bandejas de poliestireno. Decorridos 37 dias da semeadura, as mudas foram transplantadas para vasos plásticos de cinco litros. Foram avaliados o número de frutos/planta; número de frutos/m2; produção/planta e produção/m2. Foi observado efeito significativo entre os híbridos avaliados pelo teste F (α= 0,05). Pode-se concluir, que os híbridos portadores do hábito de crescimento determinado (Rosso e Giallo) apresentaram melhor desempenho agronômico em relação aos híbridos portadores do hábito de crescimento indeterminado (Verdi, Arancio, Candy e Mascot). O híbrido Rosso se destacou entre os híbridos avaliados.

Produção e qualidade de mini tomate em sistema orgânico com dois tipos de condução de hastes e poda apical

RESUMO: O tomate é uma das dez hortaliças com maior acúmulo de dados agronômicos. No entanto, apesar da grande importância do manejo cultural na produtividade do tomateiro, ainda há carência de pesquisa no cultivo de mini tomate. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho teve objetivo de avaliar o efeito da poda apical e condução de hastes em plantas de mini tomate enxertadas, cultivadas no sistema orgânico, sobre a produção e qualidade dos frutos. O experimento foi conduzido em Itatinga-SP. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de blocos ao acaso, com quatro tratamentos, 16 repetições e quatro plantas úteis por parcela. Os tratamentos foram resultantes do fatorial 2x2, sendo dois tipos de condução de hastes (duas hastes: haste principal e uma haste secundária conduzida imediatamente abaixo do primeiro cacho da haste principal, denominada de condução tradicional; ou duas hastes secundárias conduzidas a partir das gemas localizadas nas axilas das duas primeiras folhas localizadas imediatamente após o ponto de enxertia, denominada de condução de "hastes baixeiras") e dois tipos de poda apical (três ou cinco folhas entre a poda apical e o último cacho). A condução de duas "hastes baixeiras" foi superior à tradicional para número de cachos por planta (18,4 x 16,4), produção total (2,61 x 2,29 kg) e comercial (2,09 x 1,76 kg) por planta, número de frutos totais (318 x 283) e comerciais (226 x 188) por planta e porcentagem de aproveitamento (79,2 x 76,2%). O número de folhas deixado entre a poda apical e o último cacho não influenciou as características avaliadas. O teor de sólidos solúveis não foi afetado pelos fatores estudados, com média de 7,05oBrix. Com base nos resultados obtidos é possível concluir que a condução de duas "hastes baixeiras" foi superior à tradicional, com maior produção de frutos comerciais.

Determination of Shelf-life of Black Mini Tomato Based on Maturity and Storage Temperature

흑색 방울토마토 '헤이-G'의 저장력을 구명하기 위해 숙도별(짙은 녹색단계의 미숙, 검붉은 단계의 적숙)로 수확하여 저장온도별(8, 12, <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX>)로 3주간 저장하면서 품질과 라이코펜 함량을 조사하였다. 흑색 방울토마토의 중량감소율은 미숙과와 적숙과에 따른 유의적인 차이는 없었고, 저장 온도가 높을수록 높게 나타났다. 경도는 미숙과를 <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 5일 이후, <TEX>$12^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 8일 이후, <TEX>$8^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 19일 이후에 적숙과의 초기치(8.1 N) 이하로 낮아졌다. 적숙과의 가용성고형물 함량은 저장초기 증가한 후 부패가 일어나기 전까지 각각의 저장온도에서 미숙과보다 높았다. 적정산도는 적숙과의 경우 저장기간과 저장온도에 따라 낮아지는 경향을 보인 반면에 미숙과의 경우는 후숙이 진행되어도 적정산도가 거의 변화하지 않아 풍미에 영향을 미칠 것으로 보인다. Hunter a값은 저장온도가 높을수록 특히 미숙과의 경우 급격히 변화하였으나, <TEX>$8^{\circ}C$</TEX>에 저장한 미숙과는 착색불량 및 장해로 인해 후숙되지 못했다. 완숙토마토와 달리 흑색 방울토마토의 Hunter b 값은 저장 12일까지 미숙과와 적숙과 간의 유의적인 차이는 없었다. 라이코펜의 함량은 저장온도가 높을수록 높게 나타나며 저온에서 저장한 경우 라이코펜 합성이 저해되었다. 이상의 결과로부터 흑색 방울토마토의 저장기간을 적숙과로 설정할 경우 미숙과의 저장온도는 <TEX>$12^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 15일, <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 12일간 저장할 수 있을 것으로 보인다. 흑색 방울 토마토를 적숙과로 수확할 경우 라이코펜 함량과 외관 품질을 고려하여 <TEX>$12^{\circ}C$</TEX> 내외가 적절하며, <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX> 저장은 약 5일 이내로 판단된다. Black mini tomato 'Hei-G' fruits were harvested at different stages of maturity (immature-mature green and mature-black red) and stored at different temperatures (8, 12, and <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX>) to investigate the quality and lycopene content during storage. Weight loss increased dramatically at higher temperature for both harvesting stages without significant differences. Firmness of immature fruits decreased below the initial level of mature fruit (8.1N) after 5, 8, and 19 days storage, when they were stored at 20, 12, and <TEX>$8^{\circ}C$</TEX>, respectively. Soluble solid contents of mature fruit increased at initial storage, and were higher as compared to immature fruits before deterioration at each storage temperature. Decrease in titratable acid of mature fruits depended on storage time and temperature. However, titratable acid of immature fruits showed little change during storage, and so it did not affect flavor. Hunter a value changed greatly in immature fruit stored at high temperature. Unlike ripe tomatoes, there was no significant difference in black tomato Hunter b values of immature and mature fruit at initial and 12 days storage. However, immature fruits stored at <TEX>$8^{\circ}C$</TEX> did not reach full maturity and color development and ripening. High storage temperature increased lycopene production while low storage temperature blocked lycopene development. Shelf life of the immature fruits, which was evaluated by elapsed days to conventional mature stage, was 12 and 15 days when they were stored at 20 and <TEX>$12^{\circ}C$</TEX>, respectively. The optimum storage temperature to maintain the quality and lycopene content of mature fruits was <TEX>$12^{\circ}C$</TEX>. Moreover, the shelf life of mature fruits stored at <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX> could reach up to 5 days.

A Robust Recognition Method for Occlusion of Mini Tomatoes Based on Hue Information and the Curvature

In this paper, we propose a robust recognition method for occlusion of mini tomatoes based on hue information and the curvature. This method is used for a managing system using robots for hydroponic that we have proposed. In this system, robots need to recognize mini tomatoes to manage farmlands. In a lot of cases, mini tomatoes are covered partially by leaves or other tomatoes. Thence, the system needs a mini tomato recognition method in the situations including occlusion. First, this method detects red areas using hue information from a source image. Second, the method detects contours from the areas by using contour tracking. Finally, the method judges whether contours are mini tomatoes or not by using the curvature. We compared our method with circle detection method using Hough transform. Experimental results showed that the recognition rate of our method was 78.8%. On the other hand, the recognition rate of the comparative method was 47.9%. Therefore, we consider that the proposed method is appropriate for mini tomato recognition in the situations including occlusion.

Sweet grape mini tomato grown in culture substrates and effluent with nutrient complementation

The objective of this study was to evaluate production of Sweet Grape mini tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) using culture substrates and nutrient solution sewage effluent, applied by drip irrigation (fertigation). The experiment was conducted at the University of Goiás State (UEG-UnUCET), from June to November 2011 in Anápolis-GO, Brazil. The experimental design was a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design with four repetitions. The plots were made by combining two nutrient solutions, effluent supplemented with mineral fertilizers (EcS); conventional nutrient solution (SnC); in addition three cultivation substrates: 60% of fine sand washed + 40% substrate composed by 20% coconut fiber plus 80% pine bark (S1); 20% coconut fiber and 80% pine bark (S2) and natural coconut fiber (S3). Sewage effluent were determined nitrate, calcium, potassium, manganese, total phosphate, total iron, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, boron, zinc and molybdenum. We evaluated average mass and average number of fruits per bunch, total fruit and total yield per plant. Statistical difference absence among tested solutions indicates sewage effluent can be used as an alternative source of nutrients in growing mini tomatoes in hydroponics.