IMPORTANCE OF CROP:
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Tomatoes have been used as food by the inhabitants of Central America since pre-historic time. Long before the discovery Americas, the pre-Columbian and Aztecs developed larger and new colours of tomato from the wild cherry tomato.
3 believed to have introduced tomato in India in 1828 through Royal Agri-Horticultural Society, Calcutta and afterwards it spread to other parts of the country.
• Tomato is one of the most versatile crops in the world because of its fast and wide climatic adaptation.
• Tomato is the world`s most popular and widely cultivated vegetable crop and grown in all kinds of climate viz., temperate, sub-tropical and tropical,
• Tomato is basically warm season crop and has the potential to grow all the year round in mild climatic condition.
• It is universally treated as `protective food` and provides almost all types of vitamins and minerals in quite fair amount
• It is eaten directly as raw vegetable in sandwiches, salad etc. and used in a number of ways for culinary purposes.
• Its ripe fruits are utilized on a large scale in the preparation of a variety of processed products, such as puree, paste, powder, ketchup, sauce, soup, syrup, juice, drinks` and canned whole peeled fruits.
• The mature green fruits are used for making pickles and preserves, and are also consumed after frying in oils.
• Fruit firmness, thick pericarp (0.5 cm and above), low locule number (2-3) and slow fruit ripening character is preferred for good transportability and better sriifefife.
• High total soluble sol ids (°Brix 5.5 and above), low pH (below 4.5), solid /acid ratio of 15 and sugar/ acid ratio of 8.5 and high viscosity of fruit pulp is ideal for processing purpose.
• Tomato fruits contain various types of flavouring compounds, 1 which enrich the taste and color; thus, it is used in a number of ways to improve the flavour and characteristics of other foodstuffs.
• Red colour of tomato is due to the carotenoid pigment lycopene I which is regarded as the powerful antioxidant.
