Fruit Development in Tree Tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) Cultivars

Abstract

Tree tomato is a fruit cultivated in Ecuador, being Tungurahua a representative area for its production. The Gigante anaranjado and Gigante morado cultivars are commercialized mainly for its fruit size. However, there is little information on the external and internal changes that occur during the- fruit development stages. The experiment was carried out in Valle Hermoso (Pelileo, Ecuador), registering diameter, weight, firmness, soluble solids and color in fruits from self-pollination in the cultivars Gigante anaranjado and Gigante morado. During the evaluation period, the results showed a progressive increase in all variables, except internal firmness. At 170 DAP, the Gigante morado cultivar obtained higher values than the Gigante anaranjado cultivar in all variables, except in internal firmness. Only fruit weight showed significant differences: Gigante morado reached 147.50 g while Gigante anaranjado obtained 118.83 g. The soluble solids reached similar values (11.0 °Brix) for both cultivars. The seeds of the two cultivars became differentiated from the mucilage at 60 DAP, but the color of the mucilage began to change at 80 DAP in the Gigante morado cultivar and at 90 DAP in the Gigante anaranjado.