EVALUATION OF TOMATO FRUIT QUALITY DEPENDING ON STORAGE CONDITIONS

Abstract

Tomato is a crop of global importance, valued for its nutritional properties and culinary versatility, tomato fruits are consumed fresh and processed. The article analyzes ways to increase the efficiency of ripening of tomato hybrids of different ripeness groups when stored for short-term storage. Experimental studies were conducted over three years (2020–2022). The most important indicator of tomato fruit quality was testing the effect of storage conditions on the ripening of tomato fruits. For short-term storage of the fruits of the last harvest, which are most often harvested green or at the stage of waxy ripeness, an important characteristic for the sale of products is the simultaneous ripening of fruits. When organizing ripening, the collected unripe products are brought to biological ripeness under certain conditions. In the process of ripening, under the action of the phytohormone ethylene, green tomato fruits soften and ripen quickly. However, fruits planted without treatment for ripening ripen very unevenly under the most favorable conditions. To preserve the quality and quantity of marketable products, the optimal methods of processing tomato fruits one or two days before harvest using the Sweet biopreparation or C2H5OH solution are those that provide a consistently high level of simultaneous ripening during short-term storage of tomato fruits. The optimal short-term storage period is 20 days when all fruits ripen, and the percentage of diseased and damaged fruits is minimal. The study emphasizes the importance of optimizing ripening processes during short-term storage of tomato fruits to preserve their quality and extend their shelf life. This knowledge can help in the development of improved post-harvest processing methods to increase the competitiveness of the vegetable growing industry.