1THE IMPORTANCE OF TOMATO

Tomatoes are, undoubtedly, one of the main ingredients in almost the vast majority of kitchens, especially for their important benefits and properties. They can be eaten in salads, but also alone, boiled, in sauce ...

Not in vain, as we can see throughout this post, it stands out for the amount of minerals, vitamins and water (around 94%) it contains.

Its intense red color, for example, is due to its content in lycopene, an antioxidant component that does not become vitamin A, and that exerts a protective effect against a large number of heart problems.

It has a large amount of vitamins (B, C and A), and in addition to having few calories and fat, is essential in diets to lose weight. Important is its mineral content, which highlights potassium, but also has phosphorus, magnesium and calcium, among many others.

It is very good to aid in digestion, containing organic acid salts, specifically malt and citrates. Precisely because of this issue, however, is not recommended in people who have kidney stones.

If for example we want to take advantage of all the fiber of the tomatoes (an issue that, as you know, helps us maintain a healthy digestive system), we should always choose to eat the tomato with its skin, without peeling it.

2IMPORTANT BENEFITS OF TOMATOES

1. High content of lycopene, an antioxidant that helps prevent prostate cancer in men.

2. Being low in sodium is recommended in the diet of people with high blood pressure.

3. It is rich in fiber, especially if you eat with your skin.

4. It provides vitamins (especially vitamins B, C, A and E), as well as minerals (such as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium).

5.Help to do good digestion.

3TAXONOMY AND MORPHOLOGY

-Family: Solanaceae.

-Species: Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.

-Planta: perennial shrubby that is grown as an annual. It can grow in a creeping, semi-erect or erect manner. There are varieties of limited growth (determined) and others of unlimited growth (indeterminate).

- Root system: main root (short and weak), secondary roots (numerous and powerful) and adventitious roots. Sectioning transversally the main root and from the outside inwards are: epidermis, where the specialized absorbent hairs are located in taking water and nutrients, cortex and central cylinder, where the xylem is located (set of specialized vessels in the transport of nutrients).

- Main stem: axis with a thickness that varies between 2-4 cm at its base, on which leaves, secondary stems (sympoidal branch) and inflorescences develop. Its structure, from the outside to the inside, consists of: epidermis, from which the glandular hairs, cortex or cortex, whose outermost cells are photosynthetic and the innermost ones are colenchymatic, vascular cylinder and medullary tissue, depart to the outside. In the distal part is the apical meristem, where the new foliar and floral primordia begin.

- Leaf: compound and imparipinnada, with petiolate leaflets, lobed and with serrated edge, in number from 7 to 9 and coated with glandular hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately on the stem. The mesophilic or parenchymal tissue is covered by an upper and lower epidermis, both without chloroplasts. The lower epidermis presents a high number of stomas. Within the parenchyma, the upper zone or palisade zone is rich in chloroplasts. The vascular bundles are prominent, especially on the underside, and consist of a main nerve.

-Flower: it is perfect, regular and hypoginic and consists of 5 or more sepals, of equal number of petals of yellow color and arranged helically at 135 ° intervals, of equal number of welded stamens that alternate with the petals and form a staminal cone that surrounds the gynoecium, and of a bi or plurilocular ovary. The flowers are grouped in inflorescences of the racemose type (dicasio), generally in the number of 3 to 10 in commercial varieties of tomato caliber M and G; It is common for the main axis of the inflorescence to branch below the first formed flower giving rise to a composite inflorescence, so that some have been described with more than 300 flowers. The first flower is formed in the apical bud and the others are arranged laterally below the first, around the main axis. The flower is joined to the floral axis by means of an articulated pedicel that contains the abscission zone, which is distinguished by a thickening with a small groove caused by a reduction in the thickness of the cortex. The inflorescences develop every 2-3 leaves in the armpits.

-Fruit: bi or plurilocular berry that can reach a weight that varies between a few milligrams and 600 grams. It is constituted by the pericarp, the placental tissue and the seeds. The fruit can be collected separating it by the zone of abscission of the pedicel, as it happens in the industrial varieties, in which it is undesirable the presence of part of the petiole, or it can be separated by the peduncular zone of union to the fruit.

4ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The tomato is the most widespread vegetable in the world and the one with the highest economic value. Their demand then increases and with it their cultivation, production and trade. The annual increase in production in recent years is mainly due to the increase in yield and in smaller proportion to the increase in cultivated area.
The tomato in fresh is consumed mainly in salads, cooked or fried. On a much smaller scale it is used as a pickle.

Countries Production of tomatoes year 2002 (tons)

China 25,466,211
United States 10,250,000
Turkey 9,000,000
India 8,500,000
Italy 7,000,000
Egypt 6,328,720
Spain 3,600,000
Brazil 3,518,163
Islamic Rep of Iran 3,000,000
Mexico 2,100,000
Greece 2,000,000
Russian Federation 1,950,000
Chile 1,200,000
Portugal 1,132,000
Ukraine 1,100,000
Uzbekistan 1,000,000
Morocco 881,000
Nigeria 879,000
France 870,000
Tunisia 850,000
Algeria 800,000
Japan 797,600
Argentina 700,000

5MAIN TYPES OF COMMERCIALIZED TOMATOES

Beef type Vigorous plants until 6º-7º bouquet, from this it loses enough vigor coinciding with the fattening of the first bouquets. Fruits of great size and little consistency. Early and grouped production. Irregular pistillary closure. Most important markets: internal market and foreign market (United States).

Type Marmande. Slightly vigorous plants that emit 4 to 6 usable bouquets. The fruit is characterized by its good flavor and ribbed, flattened and multilocular shape, which can vary depending on the growing season.
Vemone type. Fine and narrow-leaved plants of indeterminate size and very dense planting frame. G-size fruits that have a high degree of acidity and sugar, induced by the farmer when subjected to water stress. Its collection is done in green paint marking the shoulders well. They are varieties with few resistance to diseases that are cultivated with great success in Sardinia (Italy).

Moneymaker type. Plants of indeterminate size generally. Fruits of calibers M and MM, smooth, round and with good bouquet formation.
Cherry type (Cherry). Vigorous plants of indeterminate growth. Fruits of small size and thin skin with tendency to cracking, which are grouped in clusters of 15 to more than 50 fruits. Sweet and pleasant taste. There are cultivars that have red and yellow fruits. The objective of this product is to have a production that completes the annual cycle with homogeneous quantities. In any case, a virus-resistant and cracked tomato is persecuted, since it is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.
Long Life Type. Typically cultivated in the province of Almería. The introduction of the Nor and Rin genes is responsible for its long life, giving it greater consistency and great preservation of the fruits for commercialization, to the detriment of flavor. Generally, fruits of G, M or MM sizes with a smooth surface and uniform orange or red coloration are sought.
Smooth Type. Varieties cultivated for the internal market and Italy marketed in pintón and of less vigor than those of the Long life type.

Cocktail type Very thin plants of indeterminate growth. Fruits of weight between 30 and 50 grams, round, usually with 2 locules, sensitive to cracking and used mainly as decoration of dishes. There are also aperados fruits that have the characteristics of a tomato industry due to its consistency, soluble solids content and acidity, although its consumption is mainly fresh. The application of fungicides that stain the fruit to prevent its commercial depreciation must be suppressed.

Cherry type (Cherry). Vigorous plants of indeterminate growth. Fruits of small size and thin skin with tendency to cracking, which are grouped in clusters of 15 to more than 50 fruits. Sweet and pleasant taste. There are cultivars that have red and yellow fruits. The objective of this product is to have a production that completes the annual cycle with homogeneous quantities. In any case, a virus-resistant and cracked tomato is persecuted, since it is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.

Long Life Type. Typically cultivated in the province of Almería. The introduction of the Nor and Rin genes is responsible for its long life, giving it greater consistency and great preservation of the fruits for commercialization, to the detriment of flavor. Generally, fruits of G, M or MM sizes with a smooth surface and uniform orange or red coloration are sought.

Smooth Type. Varieties cultivated for the internal market and Italy marketed in pintón and of less vigor than those of the Long life type.

Corsage type. Increasingly present in the markets, it is difficult to define what type of tomato is ideal for bouquets, although generally the following characteristics are sought: fruits of caliber M, bright red, inserts in bouquets in the shape of a fish scraper, etc.

6EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF CULTIVATION

The rational control of climatic factors together is essential for the proper functioning of the crop, since all are closely related and the action on one of these affects the rest.

-Temperature: it is less demanding in temperature than eggplant and pepper.
The optimum temperature of development oscillates between 20 and 30ºC during the day and between 1 and 17ºC during the night; Temperatures higher than 30-35ºC affect fruiting, due to poor development of ovules and to the growth of the plant as a whole and of the root system in particular. Temperatures lower than 12-15ºC also cause problems in the development of the plant.
At temperatures above 25ºC and below 12ºC fertilization is defective or null.
The maturation of the fruit is very influenced by the temperature in relation both to the precocity and to the coloration, so that values ​​close to 10ºC as well as higher than 30ºC cause yellowish tones.
However, the temperature values ​​described are merely indicative, which must take into account the temperature interactions with the rest of the climatic parameters.

-Humidity: the optimum relative humidity oscillates between 60% and 80%. Relatively high relative humidity helps the development of aerial diseases and cracking of the fruit and problem in fertilization, because the pollen is compacted, aborting part of the flowers. The cracking of the fruit can also have its origin in an excess of soil moisture or abundant irrigation after a period of water stress.

-Luminosity: reduced brightness values ​​can have a negative effect on the processes of flowering, fertilization as well as the vegetative growth of the plant.
In critical circumstances during the vegetative period, the interrelation between daytime and nighttime temperatures and luminosity is crucial.

-Floor: the tomato plant does not have eexigency in terms of soils, separating in what refers to drainage, although it prefers loose soils of siliceous-clayey texture and rich in organic matter. However, it develops perfectly in sanding clay soils.
As for the pH, the soils can be from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline when they are sanded. It is the greenhouse-grown species that best supports the salinity conditions of both the soil and the irrigation water.