Italy: the best agronomic solutions to increase the quality of industrial tomatoes

The "Innovative agronomic techniques to increase the dry matter content and Brix grade in processing tomatoes" was launched by Italia Ortofrutta – Unione Nazionale, co-financed by its eleven Producers' Organizations under the scientific supervision of the research center CREA.
The aim of this research project is to increase the quality and profitability of industrial tomatoes in different Italian production areas.

"The genetic structure of the hybrid is of fundamental importance. The last thirty years have seen intense efforts in the field of the plant breeding to improve the quality of the fruit. To date, the DNA traits that lead to higher values in terms of °Brix and dry matter are known and, thanks to the sequencing of the genome of the cultivated tomato, it is possible to obtain modern genotypes highly performing. Consequently, the varietal choice represents the first step to achieve excellent results. The environment, and even more the interaction between the latter and the plants, play an important role on the development of these traits. Thus, it is necessary to test, for each growing environment, new crossbreeds for the desired traits (soluble and total solids, in this case) in repeated experiments over several years, also to assess the year of cultivation," continued Parisi. 

Which cultivation factors or which techniques can be used to improve the quality of the tomato? "We must certainly consider irrigation and fertilization as agronomic aspects that, if well managed, can increase the quality of the tomato," answered Mario Parisi.

Irrigation
"High water volumes facilitate yield production increases, but cause a deterioration in the quality of the berries as regards the refractometric index and dry matter. Recent studies show that it is possible to reduce irrigation volumes by up to 50% of the potential need, starting after the end of the flowering period, without compromising the productive potential of the plants and thus improving the quality of the berries. In this way, it also pursues a greater efficiency of water use and a more eco-sustainable management of the crop".

Nitrogen and potassic fertilization
"Nitrogen fertilization, as is well known, favors the growth and production of the plant. However, beyond the optimal dosage, which varies by genotype and the growing habitat, we find a reduction in the efficiency of the use of nitrogen and a tangible deterioration in quality. Numerous studies show that potassic fertilization favors the increase of dry matter, refractometric index, sugars and acidity. Several authors report that potassium improves the coloring of fruits, increasing the content of lycopene and reducing that of b-carotene".