Tomato landraces: an analysis of diversity and preferences

Abstract

This study evaluates the agronomic and morphological traits, chemical composition and traits related to consumer perception of local tomato landraces mostly collected in the suburban area of Madrid. Results showed remarkable variability at all the studied levels in this small area – intra- and inter-accession variability, and in morphological, agronomical and quality traits – and was often dependent on the environmental conditions where the crop was grown. However, few morphotypes could be defined. Some morphological traits of the studied samples seemed to be associated. For instance, ribbed fruits ripened with green shoulder and dark flesh accumulated more soluble solids. Consumer appreciation and fruit morphology, i.e. traits related to fruit size and shape, seemed to be the main determinants of tomato-type definition, although nutrient content also played an important role. Consumers positively received heirloom tomatoes, especially when they were cultivated in the open-field near their area of selection where they express their full potential in the nutrient synthesis and sensory properties. Although total soluble solids content seems to be the main trait related to appreciation, some morphological traits could be determinant in consumers’ choice. Furthermore, some consumers were more interested in different tomato typologies and nutritional characters like acidity.

Exploring morpho-physiological profiles of a collection of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) germplasm using multivariate statistics

“…Tomatoes in Greece are usually cultivated in small open-field systems requiring plant support and pruning by tutors. In this respect, the studied collection herein mainly displayed indeterminate (according to CPVO), or indeterminate to semi-determinate growth habit (according to IPGRI, 1996), similar to previous reports (Terzopoulos and Bebeli, 2010; Lázaro, 2018). Furthermore, the majority of the selected accessions, which in principal originated from different parts of Crete, showed a wide range of fruit shapes and colour (online Supplementary Fig.…”

“…Consistently to other tomato landrace-related studies (Terzopoulos and Bebeli, 2010), the majority of accessions (79%) had medium to large size of blossom end scar, indicating the lower commercial value of the product, which could probably be balanced, however, with the better flavour that consumers require. Other traits common to landrace populations, already described by others (Terzopoulos and Bebeli, 2010; Lázaro, 2018), included the presence of green shoulder, and the occurrence of slightly flattened or pear-shaped tomatoes. It is evident that local farmers around the Mediterranean basin are interested in variability in fruit shapes, colours and sizes (Mazzucato et al ., 2010; Terzopoulos and Bebeli, 2010), rather than total yield.…”

“…Furthermore, the majority of the selected accessions, which in principal originated from different parts of Crete, showed a wide range of fruit shapes and colour (online Supplementary Fig. S1), probably indicating local preferences and adaptability (Lázaro, 2018). For example, fruit shape was distributed into 9 out of 11 groups (according to CPVO classification system), with flattened, oblate, circular and pyriform shapes being the dominant ones across the collection.…”

“…The ‘in depth’ exploitation and characterization of such underutilized germplasm may serve as a valuable tool to enrich the genetic pool of modern tomato cultivars especially at low-input agricultural systems (Gur and Zamir, 2004; Casañas et al ., 2017). The geographic pattern of diversity of tomato landraces in the Mediterranean region has been widely documented (Terzopoulos and Bebeli, 2010; Cebolla-Cornejo et al ., 2013; Parisi et al ., 2016; Figàs et al ., 2018; Lázaro, 2018; Gonias et al ., 2019). Typically, landraces serve as a valuable reservoir of genes for fruit quality and abiotic stress tolerance, while they lack pathogen resistance genes (Sacco et al ., 2015; Csambalik et al ., 2019; Gonias et al ., 2019).…”

Biodiversity in Tomatoes: Is It Reflected in Nutrient Density and Nutritional Yields Under Organic Outdoor Production?

“…The 20 cultivars included 12 cocktail and 8 salad cultivars and were grouped within their fruit type on the basis of the average fruit weight. The main determinant of the tomato type definition is not well specified in the scientific literature, although the traits related to fruit size and shape seem to be the most important factors for the fruit type classification (Lázaro, 2018). Cocktail tomatoes were described as smallsized type of tomatoes-they are hybrids of cherry tomatoes with normal-sized cultivars, e.g., salad tomatoes (Kagan-Zur and Mizrahi, 1993).…”