The Influence of NaCl Salinity on the Physiology and Quality of Four Cherry Tomato Fruits

The Influence of NaCl Salinity on the Physiology and Quality of Four Cherry Tomato Fruits The aim of the present work was to study the effects of increasing salinity (0, 75 and 150 mM) on the physiological (i.e. respiration, and emission of ethylene) and quality parameters (i.e. TSS, pH, acidity, ascorbic acid, dry matter, soluble sugars, sweetness index, lycopene and colour) of four ‘cherry’ tomato hybrids widely used in Greece (i.e. Cherelino F1, Scintilla F1, Delicassi F1, and Zucchero F1). The focus on salinity can be explained by the fact that it is a major environmental stress, especially in arid and semi-arid regions like the Mediterranean ones. To observe the effects of salinity, οne month old seedlings of uniform size plants were grown in a greenhouse in 12.0 L pots filled with a mixture of loamy soil and perlite (3:1 v/v) from April to July 2012. All fruits were harvested at their full ripening stage and, then, sorted into marketable and unmarketable fruits. Random samples of the marketable fruits were used to determine the physiological and quality parameters.