Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Publication
    Effects of Potassium in Liquid Feed, Lime Type in the Base Dressing and Cultivar on the Yield, Quality and Composition of Tomatoes Grown in Peat
    Three concentrations of K in the liquid feed, two lime sources and three cultivars were compared in a long-season crop of tomatoes grown in a peat substrate with 14 1 per plant. Increasing the K concentration from 180 to 280 mg/l increased the yield but a further rise to 380 mg/l did not give a significant increase. The higher levels of K reduced uneven ripening and increased the levels of soluble solids, titratable acidity and electrical conductivity of the fruit purée. The use of dolomitic limestone only or a blend of dolomitic and ground limestones as lime sources had no effect on fruit yield, visual quality or composition. Two modern cultivars, Sonatine and Virosa, had better early yields than Ailsa Craig, an old cultivar, but similar total yields. Ailsa Craig produced a much higher proportion of fruit with uneven ripening, and early in the season its fruit had a lower soluble-solids content than did the modern cultivars. A seasonal decline in the electrical conductivity of the fruit purée was noted.
      271
  • Publication
    Quality and Performance of Eight Tomato Cultivars in a Nutrient Film Technique System
    Tests showed that fruits of eight tornato cultivars grown by nutrient film technique were significantly different in respect of mineral, soluble solids and acidity content and in electrical conductivity and firmness values. The cultivars also differed in yield, but there were no differences in nitrate or β-carotene content the fruit flavour of the cultivars was considered by taste panels to be similar. Fruit of all the cultivars stored well at 18-22 °C over a 14-day period. There was a rise and later a decline in the values for soluble solids, electrical conductivity and titratable acidity between the first {24 April) · and last (29 September) laboratory testing dates. Fruit grown by nutrient film technique had less Na, K, Mg, NO~ and alcohol-insoluble solids than fruit from peat or soil; values for Ca, vitan1in C and β-carotene were between those found in tomatoes from peat and soil
      213
  • Publication
    Tomato fruit quality - an interdisciplinary approach
    (Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1990) ;
    In the last two decades, tomato fruit yields in Ireland have increased by 100% to about 375 tonnes per hectare for long-season crops. This represents a very considereable increase in the intensity of growing and may have implications for fruit quality. For this reason, the inter-relationship between crop production, yield, quality and composition of tomato fruit from high-yielding, intensive growing systems was evaluated by the authors (a food technologist and a crop production specialist, respectively.) with the aid of research contracts awarded under the 1979-1983 and 1984-1988 Agro-Food Programmes (Directorate General VI) of the Commission of the European Communities (Anon,1978, 1983). The research embraced a number of elements, including baseline studies on the quality of commercially grown tomatoes. The effects of growing media, fertilizer levels, nutrient solutions, plant spacing, interplanting and energy-saving techniques on tomato fruit quality were assessed, as was the quality of different cultivars. Procedures for testing and evaluating tomato fruit quality (including sensory aspects) were assessed via inter-laboratory studies with European colleagues. This paper highlights some of the findings of this research and cites the published.
      602
  • Publication
    The Effect of Re-Compression on Tomato Fruit Firmness
    (An Foras Talúntais, 1987) ;
    In shelf-life tests when fruit firmness is measured by compressing the fruit, it may be desirable to re-compress the same fruit a number of times to keep the size of the experiment to a practicable scale. Results of tests showed that tomatoes which were re-compressed were softer than tomatoes tested only once. Therefore it was concluded that when absolute data are required it may be necessary to test a replicate set of tomatoes at each time of testing
      172