29th International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes, IHC 2014: International Symposium on High Value Vegetables, Root and Tuber Crops, and Edible Fungi Production, Supply and Demands

The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is one of the most common vegetables in the world and in Italy it represents a significant part of the total agricultural production. The 'Oxheart' tomato has a slightly ribbed pear-shape, and can be of different colors from green to pink or red, depending on the state of ripeness. It is characterized by floury pulp and it is available almost all year round. The aim of the study was to compare from a sensory point of view the grafted varieties with the non-grafted ones and their berries derived from different types of maturation (matured on the plant or in cold storage). Samples were divided into two groups: the tomatoes ripened on the plant and collected at optimal ripeness and the tomatoes collected when they start to become red and then aged in cold storage (4°C). These in turn are divided into the three types of graft: variety Profitto not grafted (or ungrafted), variety Profitto grafted on Beaufort and variety Profitto grafted on Big Power. Finally, an attempt was made to determine whether or not it is possible to predict, using chemical parameters, the responses of the panelists for the sensory analysis. The test results showed that the difference between grafted and non-grafted variety was not great, because only a few parameters showed different behaviour depending on rootstock. The sensory analysis showed that the difference between berries derived from the two different types of aging is very strong and is perceived by the consumer. The interaction between type of graft and type of maturation was not very relevant from a sensory point of view, so it was concluded that that 'Oxheart' tomato quality is improved if the fruit ripened on plant compared to stored at 4°C, whether or not grafted.