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Lycopersicon esculentum

Authority	Mill.
Family	Magnoliopsida:Asteridae:Solanales:Solanaceae
Synonyms	Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L.) Karst. ex Farw., Solanum lycopersicum L.
Common names	pomodoro, tamatie, temata, temeta, tomata, tomatar, tomate, tomato
Editor
Ecocrop code	1379

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Variable erect, or spreading, coarsely hairy, herbaceous plant 0.7-2 m tall. There are many varieties of tomatoes with red or yellow fruits of different size and shape. USES Tomatoes are grown for there edible fruits. The tomatoes are eaten cooked or raw, in a variety of ways. The fruit are used to produce soup, juice, sauce, ketchup, puree, paste, and powder. The are often canned and green, unribe tomatoes are pickled and preserved. Seeds contain 24% oil used as a salad oil and for making margerine and soaps. The residual press cake is fed to livestock or used as fertilizer. GROWING PERIOD Variable annual herb, fruits of upright cultivars can normally be harvested 70-130 days from transplanting. Other cultivars may require 120-140 days. COMMON NAMES Tomato, love apple, tomate, tomaat, tamatar, vilayti, baingan, rangam, tomat, faan ke'e, tomati, tomatl, jitomate. FURTHER INF Scientific synonym: L. lycopersicum, Solanum lycopersicum. Tomato is probably native of Mexico. It can be grown at altitudes between sea level and 2000 m in the tropics, but yields are generally higher at elevations over 1000 m. A diurnal variation of at least 5-6°C is considered necessary for optimum development. High relative humidity can be harmfull to the tomato crop and fruits rarely ripen fully in wet and dull weather. On the other hand tomato is also sensitive to sunburn and hot dry winds can lead to flower drop and reduced yields. For many varieties trellising and tying to trellises increases yields and fruit quality. Yields are mainly between 20-40 t/ha bur yields up to 150 t/ha have been recorded.
Sources
SOURCES (L. esculentum Mill.) Sims D (pers. comm.) Dube P 1982 pp 32 Maas E 1990 pp 279 Tindall H 1983 pp 354-359 [DRA, FER, PH, TEMP, RAIN, LIG] Sys C 1990 pp 13 Kassam A 1976 pp 79 Doorenbos J 1979 pp 157 Rice R 1990 pp 273-276 [DRA, FER, PH, TEMP, RAIN] Rehm S 1991 pp 133-134 [LIG, TEMP] Landon J 1984 pp 282 286 288 291 [TEXT, DRA, DEP, PH, FER, TEMP] Roecklein R 1987 pp 243 [USE] Eswaran H 1986 Hackett C 1982 pp 10 [FER, PHO, DEP, PH, TEXT, TEMP] Hartmann T 1981 pp 548-551 [KTMP, TEMP, LIG, DRA, TEXT, FER, PH] Martin F 1984 pp 226-229 [KTMP, TEMP, RAIN, PHO, DRA, DEP, FER, TEXT, USE]