EVALUATION OF FRUIT QUALITY IN TOMATO LANDRACES UNDER ORGANIC GREENHOUSE CONDITIONS

Given the importance of plant biodiversity in agro-ecological systems, we evaluated the potential use of 39 tomato landraces for greenhouse farming in the province of Almeria, Spain. The cultivars were selected from a collection of Andalusia vegetables, preserved in the Seed Bank at the University of Almeria (BSUAL). Besides a phenotypic characterisation of each cultivar, a comparative study of vegetative, floral and fruit development has been performed, as well as a detailed analysis of fruit quality under organic farming conditions. The agronomic assessment was completed with an evaluation of the organoleptic and external fruit quality based on the consumer preferences achieved from a tasting attended by 80 people from different sectors, ages and gender. A wide diversity in growth pattern, leaf morphology, flowering time, and particularly in fruit size, shape and colour, was detected among the 39 tomato landraces analysed, influencing the better adaptation of some cultivars over others within organic greenhouse conditions. Parthenocarpy was detected in some cultivars, whose fruits were able to grow until maturity in absence of pollination. Differences in the postharvest quality of fruits during their cold storage for 14 days were also observed among the different landraces. All of these attributes, including data from the tasting, have been used to identify and select those cultivars with better performance and fruit quality under organic farming in greenhouses.