Tomato Flavor and Plant Nutrition: A Brief Review

flavor associated with high soluble solids and soluble solids/titrateable acidity ratios. High sugar and high acid contents generally have a favorable effect on taste. Differences between the flavors of varieties…and the weaker flavor of greenhouse-grown or artificially ripened tomatoes…are explained by the different quantitative proportions of the volatile substances. Of the environmental factors, light has the most profound effect on the fruit sugar concentration. Generally, more sunlight reaching the fruit results in higher sugar content. As a consequence, greenhouse tomatoes grown during the winter months contain substantially less sugar than field-grown tomatoes in the summer. The characteristic tomato flavor is influenced by many volatile substances, many of which develop during ripening. Kadar (1977) reported that tomatoes picked at under-ripe stages were less sweet, more sour, less “tomato like”, and had more off-flavor than those picked at the tableripe state. The development of long-chain carbonyls and terpene esters that occurs during the ripening stage is essential for the typical tomato aroma.