He said the additional firmness provides a longer shelf life, even when the tomato is harvested when completely ripe. “The compression peak for this tomato indicates a fruit 70% firmer compared to the average firmness in the Texas A&M AgriLife tomato breeding population.” “The fruit firmness in the TAM-SP18-157 breeding line is superior to what was expected,” Avila said. He said the new Texas A&M AgriLife tomato line produces a firm tomato that does not “leak” when sliced or diced and has a uniformly red color – traits highly desired by both the industry and consumers.Īdditionally, field trials at the Texas A&M AgriLife center in Weslaco have shown TAM-Sp18-157 has an excellent combining ability when used as a parent for hybrid cultivar development. “When used as a parental line, the resulting F1 hybrids have shown improved firmness, enhanced sugar and acid content, and higher amounts of dry matter and fruit yield.” “It does this because the ripening process is not inhibited,” Avila said. Our successful accomplishment of these objectives and the very promising data we obtained directed us toward additional lines of investigation.”Īvila said the firmness trait in the newly developed TAM-Sp18-157 line is different in that it produces extraordinarily firm tomatoes while conserving their flavor and color. “We developed F1 hybrids, evaluated their shelf life at different storage conditions and developed F2 mapping populations. “In the previous project, we evaluated and characterized fruit firmness for trait stability in three locations - Weslaco, Uvalde and Bryan-College Station,” said Avila, who also led the previous project. The new project continues the 2019 project “Novel Tomato Fruit Firmness Trait: Breeding for Long Shelf Life While Conserving Flavor Is Now Possible.”Ĭarlos Avila, Ph.D., is an expert in vegetable breeding and genetics. “This affects both consumption and supermarket sales.” Building on previous research success “As a result, there is a general concern that most modern tomato cultivars have lost their flavor,” Avila said. Previous tomato improvement attempts with the genes that delay softening have had the unfortunate effect of negatively affecting fruit color, flavor and human health attributes, Avila said. “The survey results from growers, consumers, retailers and marketers demonstrated the need to improve shelf life, quality, texture, color, aroma and taste in fresh and processed tomatoes for increased consumer satisfaction and optimized market value.” “These needs included as a priority the development of high-quality fruits to meet consumer demands,” Patil said. The research team said the new project’s long-term goal and objectives were formulated from surveyed stakeholder needs deemed critical to the sustainability of the tomato industry. “With this, we hope to be one step closer to developing the holy grail of tomatoes to meet the long-standing demand of agricultural producers and consumers.”ĭirk Hays, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife center director at Weslaco, said the development of flavorful and nutritious tomatoes with a long shelf life, good appearance and high yield would lead to increased tomato consumption and contribute to healthier lives for consumers and improved livelihoods for producers. “This new project is part of breeding efforts to dissect the genetics and effects on human health attributes, flavor and aroma relating to the firmness trait of a Texas A&M line that provides long shelf life for the tomato,” said Avila, who will serve as project director. Avila is affiliated with the Department of Horticultural Sciences in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Bryan-College Station.Īvila will work with Kranthi Mandadi, Ph.D., AgriLife Research associate professor in Weslaco and with the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology and Bhimu Patil, Regent Professor, director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, Department of Horticultural Sciences, and the USDA National Center of Excellence, Bryan-College Station. Project research will be led by Carlos Avila, Ph.D., AgriLife Research associate professor in vegetable breeding at the Weslaco center. Carlos Avila, Ph.D., will lead the new round of research on tomato firmness.
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