NUTRITIONAL QUALITY AND LYCOPENE CONTENT OF NINE TOMATO ACCESSIONS GROWN IN OMAN

Tomato is the largest solanaceous vegetable crop grown in Oman. In the year 2002 tomato crop occupied the largest cultivated area 14.1% of the total vegetable crops grown and its production was 26.6% of the total vegetable produce in Oman. Nine tomato accessions acquired from Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC), Taiwan were grown under the local conditions and were evaluated for their nutritional quality and lycopene contents. The mean values for moisture, protein, ash and total soluble solids (TSS) of different accessions differed significantly (P < 0.05) and ranged between 91.2 to 94.1%, 1.15 to 1.58%, 0.57 to 0.85% and 4.07 to 6.16% respectively. The highest TSS value was observed for PTA 4719A accession, whereas the CL 5915-206 showed the lowest value. Highly significant (P < 0.01) differences were observed in the lycopene content of these accessions and the mean values ranged between 7.81 to 70.17 mg.kg^-1. The highest mean lycopene values were found in PT 4664B accession and the lowest values in CLN 1462A accession. Further studies are in progress to investigate the relationship between the nutrient composition, lycopene content and economic characteristics of these accessions for their potential adaptation under local Omani conditions.