Magnitude of Genotype × Environment Interactions Affecting Tomato Fruit Quality

There is a growing interest by consumers to purchase fresh tomatoes with improved quality traits including lycopene, total soluble solids (TSS), vitamin C, and total titratable acid (TTA) content. As a result, there are considerable efforts by tomato breeders to improve tomato for these traits. However, suitable varieties developed for one location may not perform the same in different locations. This causes a problem for plant breeders because it is too labor-intensive to develop varieties for each specific location. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of genotype x environment (GxE) interaction that influences tomato fruit quality. To achieve this objective, we grew a set of 42 diverse tomato genotypes with different fruit shapes in replicated trials in three locations: North Carolina, New York, and Ohio. Fruits were harvested at the red ripe stage and analyzed for lycopene, TSS, vitamin C, and TTA.Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences (P was 16%, whereas that for TTA was 87%. The extent of G·E interaction found for fruit quality traits in the tomato varieties included in this study may be useful in identifying optimal locations for future field trials by tomato breeders aiming to improve tomato fruit quality.Fil: Panthee, Dilip R.. North Carolina State University; Estados UnidosFil: Cao, Chunxue. Ohio State University; Estados UnidosFil: Debenport, Spencer J.. Ohio State University; Estados UnidosFil: Rodríguez, Gustavo Rubén. Ohio State University; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Humanidades. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Humanidades; ArgentinaFil: Labate, Joanne A.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Robertson, Larry D.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Breksa, Andrew P.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: van der Knaap, Esther. Ohio State University; Estados UnidosFil: McSpadden Gardener, Brian B.. Ohio State University; Estados Unido