Influence of Harvesting Stage and Storage Temperature on Nutritional Quality of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) cv. PKM-1

Premise of Research: It is found that the nutritional quality of fruits varies with the harvesting stage and the storage temperature. Hence, a study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional quality of a popular tomato cultivar in South India, PKM-1 harvested at different maturity stages and during storage.

Methodology: Tomato fruits were harvested at mature green, yellow-green and red ripe stages and the nutritional quality of fresh tomatoes were determined. The fruits were stored at room temperature and in refrigerator at 6oC and the changes in biochemical parameters were estimated.

Pivotal Results: Ascorbic acid, total sugars and lycopene contents increased during ripening and were found to be highest in red ripe stage. Titrable acidity and total phenols were highest in mature green tomatoes and decreased during ripening. Storage studies revealed that ascorbic acid, titrable acidity and total phenols decreased during storage. Total sugars and lycopene contents increased during storage.

Conclusions: Tomato fruits stored at 6oC showed better nutritional value due to lesser change in nutrient content. The study revealed that the nutritional quality of tomato harvested at red ripe stage had the highest nutritional value and a low temperature of 6oC favoured better shelf-life and is ideal for storage of harvested tomato.