Elicitors Enhance Yield and Secondary Metabolites in Tomato Cultivation: Experimental Validation

Tomatoes are a valuable horticultural product rich in essential nutrients. Elicitors can enhance their taste and nutritional quality. This study aimed to investigate the effects of various elicitors on the morphology, physiology, productivity, and phytochemistry of tomatoes. To achieve this goal, four treatments of elicitors were selected in a nonfactorial, randomized complete block design: E0 = control; E 1 = 160 mM NaCl; E 2 = 0.5 mM salicylic acid (SA); E 3 = 0.25 mM methyl jasmonate (MJ). Results showed that the NaCl application increased lycopene (2.18%), total sugar (19,05%), and antioxidant activity (3.71%). SA application improved fruit number per truss (107.05%), fruit set (88.32%), proline (32.41%), pH (14.21%), total flavonoids (1081.21%), and antioxidant activity (0.63%), respectively. MJ application increased beta‐carotene (215.98%), total soluble solids (7.75%), titratable acidity (44.44%), and antioxidant activity (2.40%), respectively. The study confirms that SA is an effective elicitor for improving tomato production and secondary metabolite content. These preliminary results suggest SA’s potential for improving tomato cultivation, though field trials are needed to confirm efficacy under agricultural conditions.