CROP MANAGEMENT AND TOMATO QUALITY IN THE 90'S

Improving raw material quality is probably the biggest challenge facing the management of tomatoes for processing in the near future. Quality has to be understood in its wider meaning, which involves fruit integrity, firmness, right stage of maturity, chemical and physical characteristics, nutrient contents, taste, absence of pesticide residues and so on. The importance of the different raw material requirements for the various industrial products should not be ignored.

The factors which strongly influence the quality of tomato fruits are climate, soil, and crop management. Growers can, to a large extent, control crop management, and can often intervene to correct situations produced by the other two factors. Crop management depends on farm organization and agreements with the factory. It should include variety selection, technical practices, crop planning, and harvest and post-harvest handling. Consequently, it is important for the manager to keep up to date with new scientific achievements and techniques. But above all he must be able to combine these various factors to produce the best results.

Sometimes there is a trade-off between yield and quality, but a good compromise is often possible. Furthermore, good quality does not always require higher growing costs, because a lower input is often better.

The aim of this work is to briefly point out recent achievements in crop management, especially with regard to raw material quality.