Abstract
Irrigation with saline water affects tomato fruit quality. While total fruit yield decreases with salinity, inner quality characterized by taste and health-promoting compounds can be improved. For a detailed description of this relationship, the influence of three different salt levels [electrical conductivity (EC) 3, 6.5, and 10] in hydroponically grown tomatoes was investigated. Rising salinity levels in the nutrient solution significantly increased vitamin C, lycopene, and beta-carotene in fresh fruits up to 35%. The phenol concentration was tendentiously enhanced, and the antioxidative capacity of phenols and carotenoids increased on a fresh weight basis. Additionally, the higher EC values caused an increase of total soluble solids and organic acids, parameters determining the taste of tomatoes. Total fruit yield, single fruit weight, and firmness significantly decreased with rising EC levels. Regression analyses revealed significant correlations between the EC level and the dependent variables single fruit weight, total soluble solids, titrable acids, lycopene, and antioxidative capacities of carotenoids and phenols, whereas vitamin C and phenols correlated best with truss number, and beta-carotene correlated best with temperature. Only pressure firmness showed no correlation with any of the measured parameters. As all desirable characteristics in the freshly produced tomato increased when exposed to salinity, salinity itself constitutes an alternative method of quality improvement. Moreover, it can compensate for the loss of yield by the higher inner quality due to changing demands by the market and the consumer. This investigation is to our knowledge the first comprehensive overview regarding parameters of outer quality (yield and firmness), taste (total soluble solids and acids), nutritional value (vitamin C, carotenoids, and phenolics), as well as antioxidative capacity in tomatoes grown under saline conditions.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Higher salinity increased vitamin C in tomato fruit up to 35%.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- Rising salinity levelse0
- Outcome
- vitamin Ce0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 35%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Rising salinity levels in the nutrient solution significantly increased vitamin C, lycopene, and beta-carotene in fresh fruits up to 35%.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher salinity increased lycopene in tomato fruit up to 35%.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Rising salinity levelse0
- Outcome
- lycopenee0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 35%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Rising salinity levels in the nutrient solution significantly increased vitamin C, lycopene, and beta-carotene in fresh fruits up to 35%.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher salinity increased beta-carotene in tomato fruit up to 35%.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Rising salinity levelse0
- Outcome
- beta-carotenee0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 35%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Rising salinity levels in the nutrient solution significantly increased vitamin C, lycopene, and beta-carotene in fresh fruits up to 35%.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher EC decreased total fruit yield.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- rising EC levelse0
- Outcome
- total fruit yielde0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Total fruit yield, single fruit weight, and firmness significantly decreased with rising EC levels”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher EC decreased single fruit weight.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- rising EC levelse0
- Outcome
- single fruit weighte0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Total fruit yield, single fruit weight, and firmness significantly decreased with rising EC levels”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher EC decreased firmness.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- rising EC levelse0
- Outcome
- firmnesse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Total fruit yield, single fruit weight, and firmness significantly decreased with rising EC levels”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Phenol concentration tended to increase.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- phenol concentratione0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The phenol concentration was tendentiously enhanced”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
The antioxidative capacity of phenols and carotenoids increased.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- antioxidative capacity of phenols and carotenoidse0
- Direction
- increasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the antioxidative capacity of phenols and carotenoids increased on a fresh weight basis”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher EC increased total soluble solids.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- higher EC valuese0
- Outcome
- total soluble solidse0
- Direction
- increasee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the higher EC values caused an increase of total soluble solids and organic acids”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher EC increased organic acids.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- higher EC valuese0
- Outcome
- organic acidse0
- Direction
- increasee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the higher EC values caused an increase of total soluble solids and organic acids”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
EC correlated significantly with five quality and yield measures.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- EC levele0
- Outcome
- single fruit weight, total soluble solids, titrable acidse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Regression analyses revealed significant correlations between the EC level and the dependent variables single fruit weight, total soluble solids, titrable acids, lycopene, and antioxidative capacities of carotenoids and phenols”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Vitamin C and phenols correlated best with truss number.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Organ / stage
- trusse0
- Outcome
- vitamin C and phenolse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“vitamin C and phenols correlated best with truss number”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Beta-carotene correlated best with temperature.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- temperaturee0
- Outcome
- beta-carotenee0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“beta-carotene correlated best with temperature”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Pressure firmness did not correlate with measured parameters.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- pressure firmnesse0
- Direction
- no correlatione0
- Comparator
- measured parameterse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Only pressure firmness showed no correlation with any of the measured parameters”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose salinity for improving tomato quality.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- salinitye0
- Outcome
- alternative method of quality improvemente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“salinity itself constitutes an alternative method of quality improvement”
t0“Tomato”
The same questions in other papers
salinity · quality: phytochemicals · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results differ
24 papers in the same direction as this paper · 8 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- positive
- positive
29 papers more in this group
See all 33 papers →salinity · molecular: metabolites · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
31 papers in the same direction as this paper · 49 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- no effect
- negative
- positive
78 papers more in this group
See all 82 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.