LARGE-FRUITED, DELICACY AND HIGHLY PALATABLE TOMATO VARIETIES

Abstract

The conflict has arisen between the production of “technical”, low quality tomato varieties in the interests of  farmers and processers and the need of population accustomed to consumption of salad tomatoes in high quality, useful products. As far as now this conflict has not been settled. Tomatoes are among the most important year-round sources of vitamins  С, В, В2, РР, А, Н, В9, pectines,  valuable minerals and nutrients and  also  other  compounds,  especially the  antioxidants lycopene and  carotene, which  determine healthy diet  of humans and protect from many diseases. It  is necessary to create the tomato varieties  for each soil-climatic  zone, which are adapted to specific environmental conditions of cultivation, thus maximizing the genetic and climatic potential of the crop. In non-chernozem  zone of Russia, which is characterized  by perhumidity but rather short vegetation period and insufficient sum of temperatures for such warm-weather crop as tomato, the  plant  breeders  of  Federal State-Financed research Institution,  Federal Research Center of Vegetable  Production “VNIISSOK” create primarily short-season  and mi-season varieties, which are tolerant to the low temperatures, short-growth (tree-type  and determinant  bushes) with closely placed clusters, even ripening and resistant to shot holes.