Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
Calabanga | Pasacao | Pili | Sipocot
TOMATO ( Solanum
lycopersicum )
Pre-harvest - transportation
Objectives:
[Link] give importance to the field of post-harvest
handling of a commodity.
[Link] know how the tomatoes undergo pre-harvest up
to transportation.
[Link] obtain the learning of students in growing up to
consumption of tomatoes.
Tomato, scientifically known as Solanum lycopersicum is an
important and popular vegetable grown in many parts of the
world. The fruit is used as an ingredient in many food preparations
and is regarded as one of the most profitable crops for off-season
production.
10 Reasons Why You Should Be Eating More Tomatoes
• Tomatoes are good for your skin.
• Tomatoes help prevent several types of cancer.
• Tomatoes help maintain strong bones.
• Tomatoes help repair damage caused by smoking.
• Tomatoes provide essential antioxidants.
• Tomatoes are good for your heart.
• Tomatoes are good for your hair.
Cultural Management of tomato
Tomato is more preferable in a warm climate without extreme heat or
too much rainfall. A temperature of 29’C in the day or 20″C during the
night is the best.
Sowing procedure:
1. Wet the seedbed thoroughly before sowing.
2. Make horizontal rows 5cm apart.
3. Sow 80-100 seeds in every 50 cm row (150-200 g of seeds are
needed per hectare).
4. Water the seedbed daily (seedlings start to emerge 3-6 days from
sowing).
Pre-harvesting of tomato:
Pre harvest factors namely genetic and environmental conditions. Cultural practices like nutrient
and water supply and harvesting methods are also appealed to be factors affecting the quality of
tomato before and after harvest.
Good postharvest quality begins with good pre harvest preparation and production. A poor quality
product in the field cannot be improved after harvesting.
Environmental Factors
Growth and quality of products are normally affected by environmental factors. The influence of
climate on quality of vegetable is normally greater than the influence of fertilizer on photosynthetic
products such as sugar. Climatic conditions (temperature and light intensity) affect the sugar,
ascorbic acid and pigment content of the fruit.
Temperature
Vegetables like tomato react to different levels of temperature. For most fruits and vegetables, the
higher the temperature during the growing period, the earlier the time of harvest.
Harvesting
Tomato Harvesting Depending on the variety, fruits become ready for first picking in about 60-70
days after transplanting. The stage of harvesting depends upon the purpose to which the fruits
are to be used. The different stages of harvesting are as follows:
1. Dark green color- Dark green color is changed and a reddish pink shade is observed on fruit.
Fruits to be shipped are harvested at this stage. Such fruits are then sprayed with ethylene 48
hours prior to shipping. Immature green tomatoes will ripen poorly and be of low quality. A
simple way to determine maturity is to slice the tomato with a sharp knife. If seeds are cut, the
fruit is too immature for harvest and will not ripen properly.
2. Breaker stage- Dim pink color observed on ¼ part of the fruit. Fruits are harvested at this stage
to ensure the best quality. Such fruit are less prone to damage during shipment often fetch a
higher price than less mature tomatoes.
3. Pink stage- Pink color observed on ¾ part of the fruit.
4. Reddish pink- Fruits are stiff and nearly whole fruit turns reddish pink. Fruits for local sale are
harvested at this stage.
5. Fully riped- Fruits are fully riped and soft having dark red colour. Such fruits are used for
processing.
Fruits are normally harvested early in the morning or evening.
Tomatoes progress from completely green in the first stage of maturity to more than 90% of the
tomato surface being red in the sixth and final stage of maturity. Tomato harvest begins in the second
stage when there is a break of color from green to tannish-yellow covering less than 10% of the
tomato surface.
Fruit
Productive
Days to harvesting Planting season
Variety period Type
(DAT) Color Size Shape
(months)
Apollo for fresh
35 2-3 Red orange Medium large oblong Determinate Dry season
market
Magilas for Dry and wet
30 1-2 Pink red large oblong Determinate
fresh season
Dry and wet
Atlas (F1) 40 2-3 Red orange Medium Large oblong Semi determinate
season
Atlas(rafted)
40 2-3 Red orange Medium large oblong Semi determinate Wet season
(kamlong)
Dry and wet
Cherry 50 4-5 Red orange Medium round Indeterminate
season
Apollo Magilas Atlas f1 Atlas(rafted)
(kamlong)
cherry
Jewel F1 and Diamante Max (D-Max) tomato variety which is also
popular among Filipino farmers. Less than a year after its launch,
Jewel F1 is proving itself to be a valuable 'gem' for farmers.
Jewel F1 D-Max
Post Harvest Handling
Precooling
cleaning or disinfecting
sorting and grading Storage
Transportation
Packaging of tomatoes
Process product of tomatoes
Thank you!
[Link]
ction-guide/
References: Production and Management of tomato. July
7, 2008. Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture.
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-why-you-should-be-eating-more-tomatoes/
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