Changes in Selected Quality Attributes of Greenhouse Tomato Fruit as Affected by Pre- and Postharvest Environmental Conditions in Year-round Production

Summary

‘Durinta’ tomatoes were grown hydroponically using rockwool substrate in greenhouses to assess the seasonal and postharvest changes of selected quality attributes including lycopene and total soluble solids (TSS, % Brix) concentrations in fruit when grown under varied electrical conductivity (EC) in the nutrient solution. Two levels of EC examined in this study were 2.4 and 4.8 dS·m −1 for standard low EC and high EC treatments, respectively. All fruits at light-red and red ripeness stages were harvested and weighed every week, and nine fruits visually representing the median group of red fruits were selected from each EC treatment and subject to measurements of lycopene and TSS concentrations. Of 53 harvest weeks (Dec. 2005 to Dec. 2006), 45 weeks were subject to fruit quality analyses at