Analysis of Fruit Shape, Color, Sugar and Ascorbic Acid Content in Tomato Cultivars

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops in the world. Tomato fruit shape, color, and flavor are major characters to determine marketability in fresh market. The fruit shape index, the ratio of highest fruit height to widest width (H/W), was measured with Tomato analyzer v3 in 15 tomato cultivars growing Korea. The a/b (redness/yellowness) values were measured with colorimeter in the fruits, and the chlorophyll contents were measure with chlorophyll meter in tomato leaves. Sugar content and ascorbic acid content were measured in 15 tomato cultivars and lines. We performed correlation analysis of sugar contents and ascorbic acid contents among different color categories: black, red and pink. Values of a/b showed a negative correlation with chlorophyll contents. The results of correlation showed that higher chlorophyll contents have positive effects on the sugar accumulation. Sugar contents and ascorbic acid contents showed a positive correlation within each color category; correlation coefficient was 0.97, 1 and 1 for black, red, and pink respectively.