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Depending on the variety, fruits become ready for first picking in about 60-70 days after transplanting. The harvesting stage depends upon the purpose to which the fruits are to be used. The different harvesting stages are:
Early morning or evening hours are best suited for harvest. Fruits are harvested by twisting motion of hand to separate fruits from the stem. Harvested fruits should be kept only in basket or crates and keep it in shade. Since all the fruits do not mature at the same time, they are harvested at an interval of 4 days. Generally there will be 7-11 harvests in a crop life span. Yield The yield per hectare varies greatly according to variety and season. On an average, the yield varies from 20-25 t/ha. Hybrid varieties may yield up to 50-60 t/ha. Storage Generally, tomatoes are picked in the green stage before becoming fully ripe for longer shelf life. The enzymes responsible for ripening stop working when temperature falls below 12.5 °C and therefore, when unripe tomatoes are kept in cold storage, it will not continue to ripen; and only fully ripe tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator. The fruits are ripened in storage using ethylene gas. Fruits ripened in this way tend to keep longer but have poorer flavour and texture than tomatoes ripened on the plant, which can be recognized by their more pink or orange colour, from the normally ripened tomatoes, which are deep red in colour. However, genetically modified tomato called the ‘Flavr Savr’, which could be vine ripened without compromising shelf life and "tomatoes on the vine", which are determinate varieties that are ripened or harvested with the fruits still connected to a piece of vine and hence possessing more flavour than artificially ripened tomatoes are developed. Another problem is that mature green tomato fruit is chilling sensitive and should not be stored at temperatures below 10°C. As the tomato fruit ripens it becomes less susceptible to chilling injury. At the pink stage tomatoes can be held at 5°C for 4 days without injury. When returned to 13 to 15°C pink fruit will complete ripening in 1 to 4 days. Uses Tomato is very popular as a salad vegetable and is processed into juice, canned tomatoes, soups, and tomato pastes. Other major culinary uses of tomatoes include tomato pickles, tomato purée, tomato pie, ketchup, pizza, and tomato sauce. It is the most widely used canned vegetable. Tomato juice is often canned and sold as a beverage. Tomato seed oil is extracted from waste seed of canning processes. Consumption of tomatoes is reported to benefit the heart. An antibiotic, tomatine, is also extracted from the seed. Lycopene, one of nature's most powerful antioxidants, is present in tomatoes and has been found to be beneficial in preventing prostate cancer, among other things. Tomato fruit is rich in vitamins A and C, calcium and potassium. The nutritional profile of tomato is as follows: Moisture (91.9%) Minerals Leaves and stems contain toxic glycoalkoloids like solanine and demissine, which are poisonous and when ingested in large quantities can cause headache, abdominal pain, dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea, circulatory and respiratory depression, loss of sensation, etc. |