Physicochemical Properties of Three Different Tomato Cultivars of Telangana, India and Their Suitability in Food Processing

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits of three commercial tomato cultivars Pusa Ruby, Lakshmi and US440, were harvested at red riped stage and physicochemical parameters like colour, TSS, p H , weight of fruit and lycopene content were assessed. Among the three  Pusa Ruby cultivar was selected for further processing due to its desirable traits like high lycopene content (5.49 mg/100 g) high TSS (6.93° Brix), pH less than 4.5 and uniform red colour. Tomato powder was processed and physicochemical analysis showed that lycopene content of tomato powder was 4.19 mg/100 g, rehydration ratio was 1.09% and dehydration ratio was 22.49%.