Comparison of Yield, Fruit Quality and Some Biochemical Traits of Four Cherry Tomato Varieties in Soilless Culture

Cherry tomatoes, all over the world, have become a popular product because of the favorable characteristics (a good source of vitamins A and C, soluble solids, flavor, low calorie and fruit formation at high temperature). Cultivar selection is one of the most important managerial decisions and, despite thousands of available varieties, it can be daunting task. Cultivars are different in attributes such as color, shape, size, taste, taste, growth, consumption, planting time, and resistance to pests and disease.

This study was carried out from the autumn of 2014 to spring of 2015, at the research greenhouses of the University of Shahid Chamran, Ahvaz, Iran. The study was performed in randomized complete block design with three replications. During the cultivation period and at the end of the experiment, the number of clusters in the plant, the number of fruits in the cluster, the number of fruits in the plant, the total function in the bush , the number of marketable and unmarketable fruits in plant, the harvest index, vitamin C and soluble solids were evaluated. In addition, nitrate content, nitrite, fruit lycopene and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a to b ratio, total chlorophyll, carotenoid and chlorophyll to carotenoid ratio) and the SPAD index were measured.

According to the comparison of the means, there were the highest number of clusters in Baby Tom (16/44) and then in Belize (15/88), which were not statistically significant and the lowest number of clusters were observed in cultivar Sogno (12.77). The highest and lowest number of fruits in the cluster were found in the cultivars of Sogno and Belize (29.82 and 17.73), respectively. The highest number of fruits in the plant (295) were observed in Sogno and the Belize cultivar had the lowest number of fruits (193.56). The highest average of single fruit weight related to the Cherry Belle (11.13 g) and the lowest in Sogno (8 g) were observed. The lowest and the maximum percentage of the unmarketable fruits were obtained in Baby Tom (09/09 %) and Sogno (32 %), respectively. The maximum yield was observed in the Cherry Belle (2929 g) and then in Sogno (2482.4 g) and Baby Tom (2077.6 g) and the minimum yield (1637.7 g) in the Belize cultivar. The highest and lowest marketable yield were obtained in Belle (2928.6 g per plant) and Belize (1636.6 g per plant) cultivars, respectively. The maximum amount of soluble solids was observed in Baby Tom (4.86 °Brix), which had no statistically significant differences with the Belle and Sogno and the lowest soluble solids was found in Belize (3.15 °Brix). There were the highest and lowest vitamin C content in Cherry Belle (28.24 mg per 100 g FW) and Belize, respectively (23.1 mg in 100 g FW). According to the results, the maximum and lowest content of lycopene were observed in the Cherry Belle and Baby Tom, with an average of 32.411 and 19.402 mg/kg, respectively. The maximum content of nitrate in fruits was observed with 0.67 mg/gr DW in the fourth cluster and the lowest content of nitrate with 0.198 mg/gr DW in the tenth cluster. The highest indices of leaf SPAD were found in Belize (28.9) and lowest in Cherry Belle (16.32).

The selection of high - yield or high - quality cultivars in a greenhouse culture is critical to the economic efficiency of this product. The difference in yield is mainly related to the genetic variation among varieties. Study of yield and yield components of four samples of tomato in the environment and similar culture showed that the Belle Cherry was the best result for yield, harvest index, and vitamin C, so this cultivar is recommended to grow in Ahvaz greenhouses.