Abstract
The appearance of a fruit quality defect, shoulder check in fresh-market tomatoes ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), has devastated the Michigan industry, and caused sporadic concern elsewhere. The defect appears as a surface roughness that occurs primarily on the shoulder area of the fruit. The fruit appearance is damaged and storability is severely compromised. Microscopic inspection reveals that the surface roughness consists of many microscopic cracks that occur in parallel lines. Our objectives were to describe this defect and evaluate the role of weather conditions and fruit surface moisture in inducing it. Field experiments were conducted in 2001 and 2002 in Southwest Michigan, using the industry standard cultivar Mountain Spring and recommended practices for irrigated, staked fresh market production. The effects of fruit surface wetness and nutrition on quality were evaluated by comparing responses to a plastic rain shelter; Surround WP kaolin spray (to enhance surface wetness); a foliar spray of calcium (Ca at 2 g·L -1 ), boron (B at 300 mg·L -1 ), Ca plus B, water alone; and no treatment. A complementary greenhouse experiment investigated the effects of low and high rates of foliar sprays. A very consistent association was found between defect incidence and precipitation events that followed periods of hot, dry weather during rapid fruit expansion. Fruit quality was highest and incidence of defects least in fruit produced under plastic rain covers, with an average marketable yield of 62,270 vs. 44,340 kg·ha -1 for the control. A 28% reduction in defects was consistently associated with Ca + B sprays across harvests and years. In contrast, 18% more fruit had shoulder check defect with kaolin spray, a consistent increase in defect across years compared to control fruit. Greenhouse and field studies gave markedly similar results, except for a water spray control. Incidence of defect was consistently low with the highest rate of B foliar spray.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Shoulder check consists of microscopic parallel cracks.
- Taxon
- Tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Outcome
- many microscopic crackse0
Not reportedOrgan / stage
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Microscopic inspection reveals that the surface roughness consists of many microscopic cracks that occur in parallel lines.”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Shoulder check incidence was associated with rain following hot, dry weather during rapid fruit expansion.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- defect incidencee0
- Qualifier
- periods of hot, dry weather during rapid fruit expansione0
- Setting
- precipitation eventse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“A very consistent association was found between defect incidence and precipitation events that followed periods of hot, dry weather during rapid fruit expansion.”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Plastic rain covers produced the highest fruit quality and least defect incidence.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- plastic rain coverse0
- Outcome
- Fruit qualitye0
- Direction
- higheste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fruit quality was highest and incidence of defects least in fruit produced under plastic rain covers”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Plastic rain covers yielded 62,270 kg·ha -1 marketable fruit versus 44,340 in controls.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- plastic rain coverse1
- Outcome
- marketable yielde0
- Value
- 62,270 vs. 44,340 kg·ha -1e0
- Comparator
- controle0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“with an average marketable yield of 62,270 vs. 44,340 kg·ha -1 for the control”
e1“Fruit quality was highest and incidence of defects least in fruit produced under plastic rain covers”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Calcium plus boron sprays reduced defects by 28%.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Ca + B sprayse0
- Outcome
- defectse0
- Direction
- reductione0
- Value
- 28%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“A 28% reduction in defects was consistently associated with Ca + B sprays across harvests and years.”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Kaolin spray increased shoulder check by 18% relative to controls.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- kaolin spraye0
- Outcome
- shoulder check defecte0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 18%e0
- Comparator
- control fruite0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“18% more fruit had shoulder check defect with kaolin spray, a consistent increase in defect across years compared to control fruit.”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
The highest boron foliar spray rate kept defect incidence low.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- highest rate of B foliar spraye0
- Outcome
- Incidence of defecte0
- Direction
- lowe0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Incidence of defect was consistently low with the highest rate of B foliar spray.”
t0“Fresh-market Tomato”
The same questions in other papers
application · disease · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
133 papers in the same direction as this paper · 16 in the opposite direction
- negative
- negative
- negative
146 papers more in this group
See all 150 papers →rainfall · quality: postharvest · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
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.