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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Rural Outreach Program
ISSN: 1684-5358 EISSN: 1684-5358
Vol. 17, No. 4, 2017, pp. 12547-12556
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Bioline Code: nd17079
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 17, No. 4, 2017, pp. 12547-12556
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EFFECT OF DIFFERENT STRESS TREATMENTS ON MATURE GREEN TOMATOES ( Solanum lycopersicum ) TO ENHANCE FRUIT QUALITY
Randome, I; Basu, S & Pereira, A
Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a crop of immense economic importance and is
grown worldwide. Its fruit is of great nutritional importance as it forms a major part of
human diet. Global production of tomato has been estimated at over 153 million metric
tonnes in 2009. Consumption of tomato is believed to benefit the heart among other
things, as it contains lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. The present
study was conducted to find the effect of multiple stresses; salt, mannitol, drought and
methyl jasmonate on fruit quality of tomato as determined by the evaluation of the
content of lycopene, beta-carotene, sucrose and total phenolics. Levels of antioxidants in
the tomato after exposure to different stresses during the mature green stage of fruit
development were assessed at the Rice Genomics laboratory in the Department of Crop,
Soil and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arkansas, USA. Seeds of the
tomato cultivar M82 were germinated in the dark for 48 hours. The seedlings were then
transplanted into commercial potting soil before being transferred to the greenhouse. The
plants were watered every other day until the mature green stage of fruit development
(85-90 days post germination). The plants were then divided into five groups and treated
with 200mM NaCl, 200 mM mannitol, drought, 100 μM methyl jasmonate and tap water
for a period of 72 hours. Afterwards, the stress treatments were removed and fruits
allowed to ripen. After ripening the fruits were assayed for lycopene, beta-carotene,
phenolics and sucrose content. Tomato plants (S. lycopersicum) subjected to salt stress
showed the highest increase in lycopene (2.8x) while for other stresses the increase was
by 1.1-1.2x. Beta-carotene content was increased by 2.5-2.7x after salt and drought stress
were applied. The highest level of phenolic compounds (2.3x) was observed after
treatment with methyl jasmonate. Salt stress increased the sucrose content by 3.2x. Thus
the application of stress at the mature green stage of fruit development leads to an
increase in bioactive compounds in tomato. This condition has the potential for
production of enhanced fruit quality in tomato.
Keywords
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum); stress; antioxidant compounds; lycopene; beta-carotene; sucrose; phenolics
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