PRODUCTION AND QUALITY VARIABLES OF THREE SELECTIONS OF RIBBED TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Tomato quality depends on its use and it is related to flavor, color, smell and nutraceutic properties and management processes. Re- searchers have improved these characteristics using wild relatives and native varieties. The ribbed tomato is grown and marketed in some regions of Mexico. These native varieties are characterized by the undetermined growth of the plants and their ribbed and very red fruits. The aim of this study was to determine the fruit production and quality of tree selections of tomato (Starmex1, Starmex2 and Starmex3) grown under greenhouse conditions using two osmotic potentials (OP) of Steiner ́s nutrient solution (-0.036 and -0.070 MPa), and using volcanic rocks (tezontle) as substrate. A total of six treatments and an experimental design of randomized complete block with ten replica- tions were carried out. Yield increased with the Steiner Solution at OP of -0.072 MPa in the selection Starmex2. The equatorial diameter in Starmex2 and the number of sepals in Starmex3 increased with the most concentrated solution regarding the morphology of the fruit. The pH increased only when plants were irrigated with nutrient solution at OP of -0.072 MPa, in the case of fruit quality.