Brazil: Hybrid grape tomato a record-breaker in lycopene content

BRS Zamir integrates a new generation of hybrid tomatoes that are enriched with lycopene, a very efficient antioxidant to fight free radicals in the organism and a pigment that gives tomato fruits their typical red color. While other commercial hybrids in the grape segment in the Brazilian market make for 40 to 90 micrograms per gram of fruit (µg/g), BRS Zamir's lycopene content can reach up to 144 µg/g.

Natural lycopene "capsules"
“Tomato products such as juices, jams, sauces, pastes, purées and extracts are the main source of lycopene in the human diet. The BRS Zamir tomato, which is recommended for fresh consumption, is a record-breaker in lycopene accumulation in the Brazilian market. From a nutritional standpoint, the fruits of the hybrid BRS Zamir work like a yummy lycopene 'capsule'”, comments the agronomist Leonardo Boiteux, a researcher responsible for Embrapa's tomato breeding and genetic improvement program.

For farmers, the nutritional characteristics of the BRS Zamir tomatoes, combined with their sensory qualities (texture, flavor and color) represent the possibility of adding value to the product they trade. Boiteux explains that the fruits present a rather balanced combination of acid and sugar contents, which results in an excellent sensory impact. In the last crop year, sales totalled 178,000 seeds (or 162 400 m²-large greenhouses). This volume represents 5% to 10% of grape tomato seed sales in Brazil, a market segment that is extremely competitive. As it is a national hybrid, the seeds cost about 30% less than imported ones.

Genetic improvement increases productivity
From an agronomic standpoint, BRS Zamir tomatoes have a genetic advantage that increases the number of fruits per cluster. Researchers from Embrapa Vegetables and partners characterized a gene (called bif) responsible for stimulating the level of bifurcation in tomato bunches, which triples the number of flowers and, consequently, of fruits. “We have observed plants that presented this bifurcation trait and selected the genetic materials to get to the BRS Zamir hybrid, which adds greater productivity due to the presence of this gene”, the researcher explains.

The work of developing the hybrid grape tomato involved crossing lineages with high sensory quality (lycopene and flavor) with lineages that presented bifurcated clusters through conventional breeding. The cultivar was assessed in different producing regions in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Paraná, São Paulo and Distrito Federal. Besides the higher productivity in comparison with the other hybrids from the same segment, BRS Zamir is also broadly adapted to the high temperatures found in the tomato producing regions of the country, reaching close to 100% of fruit setting.

The development of a national product is important because the grape tomato segment has low availability of genetic materials that are adapted to Brazilian environmental conditions, which leaves growers with very few options. “In general, most cultivars offered in the national market are foreign and the seeds are imported at elevated prices. The production of seeds of such foreign varieties occurs in greenhoused conditions in regions with milder weather. When they are cultivated in Brazil at high temperatures, there is flower abortion and inadequate fruit setting, which decreases yield”, Boiteux clarifies. 

Some complementary data
https://www.embrapa.br/en/busca-de-solucoes-tecnologicas/-/produto-servico/1262/tomate-brs-zamir

Source : Embrapa Vegetables