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Yield, physicochemical traits, antioxidant pattern, polyphenol oxidase activity and total visual quality of field‐grown processing tomato cv. Brigade as affected by water stress in Mediterranean climate
Author(s) -
Barbagallo Riccardo N,
Di Silvestro Isabella,
Patanè Cristina
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.5913
Subject(s) - irrigation , mediterranean climate , antioxidant , polyphenol , yield (engineering) , deficit irrigation , polyphenol oxidase , chemistry , arid , vitamin c , agronomy , agriculture , horticulture , food science , biology , irrigation management , enzyme , ecology , biochemistry , peroxidase , materials science , metallurgy
Background The ‘processing tomato’ is an important source of natural antioxidants whose concentration depends, along with other parameters, on water availability. In order to better understand the mechanisms that regulate the response to water stress, a study was carried out in a typically semi‐arid Mediterranean environment to investigate the yield, chemical composition and visual quality of tomato cv. ‘Brigade’ field grown under no irrigation ( V0 ) in comparison with those of the conventional fully irrigated crop ( V100 ).Results The stressful conditions of V0 affected the total yield. Nevertheless, fruits exhibited an increase in firmness (+27%), total solids (+23%) and total soluble solids (+5%). The dynamic balance between the antioxidant pattern and polyphenol oxidase activity under water stress conditions resulted in fruits with increased antioxidant activity (+12%), due to a decline in enzyme activity (−48%) and a rise in vitamin C (+20%) and total phenolic (+13%) contents.Conclusion It is possible to manage water stress by applying water‐saving irrigation strategies in order to promote the quality and nutritional properties of tomatoes while also contributing to saving water. This is a relevant aspect in processing tomato cultivation in semi‐arid environments, where both the cost and availability of irrigation water represent a rising problem in agricultural activities.© 2012 Society of Chemical Industry