Effect of Presence or Absence of Calyx of Cherry Tomato on Storage Quality

Abstract

A large number of studies have been conducted on freshness retention in many different vegetables. If vegetables have a peduncle or calyx, they serve as a channel for transpiration. The results of studies involving lemons, eggplants, and husk tomato fruit suggest their influence on freshness retention of fruit. However, no study on cherry tomatoes has been conducted to examine the effects of a calyx on the storage quality of fruit. The present study, involving four varieties of cherry tomatoes that bear different shapes of fruit, aimed to examine the influence of a calyx on the fruit storage quality. When harvested cherry tomatoes were stored at 25°C, the weight loss and respiration rate of four varieties without a calyx were equal to or lower than those of cherry tomatoes with a calyx; the moisture and ascorbic acid contents of the four varieties without a calyx were equal to or higher than those of cherry tomatoes with a calyx. Whereas no mold grew on the four varieties without a calyx, it was identified on cherry tomatoes with a calyx. The mold incidence rates of round/oblate-shaped ‘Chika’ and ‘Mini Carol’ were significantly lower than the rates of pear-shaped ‘Aiko’ and ‘Rosso Neapolitan’, which suggests that the calyx shape influences the incidence of mold. The results of the study suggest that when cherry tomatoes are stored at 25°C, the storage quality of tomatoes without a calyx is better than that of cherry tomatoes with a calyx.