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Effect of cultivar and growing medium on the fruit quality attributes and antioxidant properties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

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  • Postharvest Technology
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Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the growing medium that yielded the highest nutritional quality and longest marketable shelf life in tomato fruits. ‘TY Megaton’ and ‘Yureka’ cultivars were grown on soil and coir pith in the same climate-controlled glasshouse using a standard nutrient solution and the recommended cultivation practices. Fruits were harvested at the pink stage of ripening and stored at 12 °C in 85 ± 5% relative humidity for 20 days. The fruits of both cultivars grown on either growing medium were of acceptable quality for sale after 3 weeks of storage. The contents of the most important secondary metabolites of tomato responsible for providing their antioxidant activity (ascorbic acid, lycopene, and polyphenols) were not significantly affected by the choice of growing medium; however, significant differences were observed between the cultivars throughout the storage period. The results of this study demonstrated that the choice of cultivar is more important for fruit quality than the growing medium. The lycopene content and antioxidant activity of the fruits suggest that it is possible to achieve optimum nutrition from the pink-stage fruit of both cultivars after 12 days of storage, irrespective of the growing medium used.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (IPET) through the Agri-Bioindustry Technology Development Program, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (314086-3), and supported by the Brain Korea 21 plus program of the Department of Horticulture, Kangwon National University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon, 24341, Korea

    Shimeles Tilahun, Mu Hong Seo, Do Su Park & Cheon Soon Jeong

  2. Department of Horticulture and Plant Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

    Shimeles Tilahun

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  1. Shimeles Tilahun
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  2. Mu Hong Seo
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  3. Do Su Park
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Correspondence to Cheon Soon Jeong.

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Tilahun, S., Seo, M.H., Park, D.S. et al. Effect of cultivar and growing medium on the fruit quality attributes and antioxidant properties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 59, 215–223 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-018-0026-y

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