Lycopene, a carotenoid without provitamin-A activity, is present in many fruits and vegetables; however, tomatoes and processed tomato products constitute the major source of lycopene in North American diet. Among the carotenoids, lycopene is a major component found in the serum and other tissues. Dietary intakes of tomatoes and tomato products containing lycopene have been shown to be associat...

Presence of phytochrome in two kinds of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), the yellow lutescent strain and cherry tomatoes (L. esculentum Mill. var. cerasiformecv. Red Cherry), was established by measuring the absorption difference spectra of the whole fruit after irradiation with red and with far red light. Phytochrome content was determined in yellow lutescent tomatoes and decreased gr...

AIMS To determine the efficacy of neutral electrolyzed water (NEW) in killing Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes, as well as nonpathogenic E. coli, on the surface of tomatoes, and to evaluate the effect of rinsing with NEW on the organoleptic characteristics of the tomatoes. METHODS AND RESULTS The bactericidal activity of NEW, containing 444 or 89 mg ...

Due to the randomicity of the natural growth of tomatoes in greenhouses and different storage days for market needs, it is difficult to find appropriate methodologies for certain ripe-tomato-harvesting robot systems. This paper proposes a novel approach for recognizing ripe tomatoes from the natural background in greenhouses and extracting abscission points after color segmentation for autonomo...

Peeling is one of the first operations in the manufacture of whole peeled and diced tomatoes, and the peelability of processing tomatoes is significantly affected by the presence of various tomato defects, in particular yellow eye and blossom-end rot. Tomato maturity also impacts both the percentage of peeled fruit and yield. Immature fruits are typically undercolored and small in size. Sunburn...

The pollination effectiveness of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata and the honey bee Apis mellifera was tested in tomato plots. The experiment was conducted in four greenhouses as well as in an external open plot in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. The tomato plants were exposed to visits by M. quadrifasciata in one greenhouse and to A. mellifera in another; two greenhouses were maintained w...

365 Abstract: An experiment retail plastic packaging system was used to compare the atmospheric composition within sealed packs containing tomato fruits. A range of plastic films with different permeability properties were tested to study the effects of these conditions on the changes in postharvest qualities of tomatoes harvested at the pink stage of maturity and stored at 13C for 60 days. The...