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Consumers began to complain about the taste of tomato varieties in the late 1990's. Although tomato taste is influenced by environmental and post-harvest conditions, varieties show a large diversity for fruit quality traits. We herein review our past and present research work intended to improve tomato fruit quality. First, results from sensory analysis allowed identifying important traits for consumer preferences. Then, we dissected the genetic control of flavor related traits by mapping several QTL in the last 20 years, and identified the genes corresponding to a few major QTL. Since the availability of the tomato genome sequence, genome-wide association studies were performed on several panels of tomato accessions. We discovered a large number of associations for fruit composition and identified relevant allele combinations for breeding. We then performed a meta-analysis combining the results of several studies. We also checked the inheritance of quality traits at the hybrid level and assessed how genomic prediction could help selecting better tomato varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the development of a sorting table for agricultural products for the selection of tomatoes, potatoes or other products with approximately spherical shape, a mechanical-mathematical model and software were developed that make it possible to determine and adjust the design parameters of that sorting table. The model interrelates a set of parameters such as the coordinates of the drop point of the fruits or tubers on the conveyor belt and the angle of transverse inclination of the conveyor belt. In addition, it interrelates the rolling friction angle of the product with respect to the conveyor surface, the components of the falling speed and the linear speed of the conveyor belt, among others. The modeling was carried out applying the laws of Newtonian mechanics. The development of the software was carried out on the basis of the Mathcad 2000 Professional software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of fruits and pulses with meat products proved to have beneficial effects on food quality and consumers. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and dehydrated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) on the nutritional quality, antioxidant capacity, and shelf life of Frankfurter sausages. A higher content of tomato and chickpea are expected to improve the antioxidant capacity and stability of the product. The physicochemical characteristics, the antioxidant capacity, the microbial count, and the sensory characteristic of four sausage formulations --containing two levels of chickpea flour and tomato powder-- were evaluated. The experimental design for the physicochemical and microbial analysis was factorial (5'4) with formulation and storage time as factors; the design for antioxidant activity and sensory evaluation was completely random and it was analyzed with a one-way ANOVA and the means were compared with Tukey test (p£0.05). Chickpea and tomato did not significatively modify the protein and carbohydrate content, unlike fiber and moist. Shelf life (Aw) decreased in time as a result of the interaction of the factors. Tomato reduced the oxidation levels and increased the internal and external color of the sausages. The total phenolic content showed that tomato and chickpea are sources of antioxidants. The antioxidant capacity of tomato and chickpea could reduce the use of synthetic additives in sausages. The higher tomato content in the formulation had an antimicrobial function, whereas a higher tomato and a lower chickpea content resulted in a greater acceptability. Therefore, the conclusion is that the addition of chickpea and tomato reduced microbial growth and improved nutritional and sensory characteristics, as well as antioxidant capacity, proving that this alternative can reduce the inclusion of chemical additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the molecular diagnosis of Candidatus phytoplasma solani infection in plants of three tomato varieties, Elvira, Desteptarea, Cerasus, created at the Institute of Genetics, Physiology and Plant Protection of the Moldavian Academy of Science. The dynamics of the appearance of stolbur infection was displayed in the process of plant development in the field conditions. Using molecular detection (nested PCR analysis) allowed to establish that phytoplasma infection was not present in the tomato plants in the field at the early stages of plant development. The first signs of the infection were registered at the beginning of the fruit ripening. About a half of plants were infected with Ca. p. solani when fruits ripened on I-III racemes. The most abundant phytoplasma infection was registered at the late ontogeny stages of the tomato: mature fruits on III, IV plant racemes. Clear differences in resistance were found between the three studied varieties to phytoplasma infection. The variety Elvira demonstrated significant sensitivity to this kind of infection in comparison with the varieties Desteptarea and Cerasus. The most resistant to Ca. p. solani variety was Cerasus - an abundant infection in its plants was registered only at late ontogeny stages, more specifically, at the end of the vegetative period. The obtained results confirm the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for breeders in the creation of tomato varieties resistant to phytoplasma infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]