Quality of Tomatoes Harvested from Plants Receiving Chronic Exposures to Sulfur Dioxide1

Abstract

Potted plants of ‘Merit’ tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown from seed to maturity in controlled-environment chambers and exposed to charcoal-filtered air or 288-314 μgm-3 (0.11-0.12 ppm) SO2 during weeks 1-5, 6-10, or 1-10 beginning about one week after transplanting. Red ripe fruit harvested from plants exposed to SO2 exhibited a slight but significant decrease in ascorbic acid expressed on a dry-weight basis. SO2 induced significantly greater levels of foliar sulfur, but did not increase sulfur content of the fruit. Exposure of plants to SO2 did not affect fruit yield or quality factors including soluble solids, total solids, or ascorbic acid on fresh-weight basis. A multiple regression model revealed low but significant R2 values, indicating a weak and indirect, yet significant, association between plant sulfur content and fruit ascorbic acid.