Abstract

Consumers generally believe that organically grown tomatoes taste better and have higher nutritional value than their conventionally grown counterparts. The study was conducted to compare quality properties of tomato cultivars grown using organic and conventional production systems during storage at 13°C for 35 days. Results indicated that fruits grown using organic production system retained their firmness better during storage than their conventionally grown counterparts. However, conventionally grown fruit showed significantly higher red coloration. Other quality parameters examined in the study for organically produced fruit were either lower or similar to those in conventionally grown fruit. Microbial fertilization and plant activator significantly increased total soluble and reducing sugar contents. Thus, no definite conclusion can be reached with respect to the superior quality of organically grown fruit compared to their conventionally grown counterparts. The influence of growing system appears to be cultivar and growth condition dependent.

Key words: Microbial fertilization, plant activator, quality, tomato, storage, organic, conventional.