Tomato, << tuh MAY toh or tuh MAH toh, >> is a plant grown for its smooth, juicy, usually round fruit. The word tomato refers both to the fruit, which people eat, and to the entire plant. The fruit has a slightly acid taste. People cultivate hundreds of varieties of tomatoes.
Botanists classify tomatoes as fruits. Horticulturists, however, classify them as vegetables. Most other people consider tomatoes vegetables because they use fresh tomatoes in much the same way they use cauliflower, lettuce, onions, and many other vegetables. Fresh tomatoes are eaten raw or cooked and are served in salads and other dishes. Manufacturers use much of the commercial tomato crop to make food products. These products include canned whole tomatoes, ketchup, tomato juice, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and tomato soup. Tomatoes provide an important source of vitamins A and C and of certain minerals. They also contain chemicals called antioxidants, which scientists believe may help prevent cancer and other diseases.
People grow millions of tons of tomatoes throughout the world each year. China produces about a third of the world’s supply of tomatoes.
The tomato plant
has a strong smell, and small hairs on its stems and leaves. It spreads out while growing and produces clusters of small yellow flowers. The flowers develop into ripe tomatoes in 40 to 75 days, depending on the variety. Tomatoes are green at first, but most turn red as they ripen. Some varieties may turn orange, yellow, pink, or white.
Tomatoes thrive in fertile, warm, well-drained soil. They prefer locations that receive at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Tomatoes rank as a favorite crop of home gardeners because they will grow in nearly any kind of soil. In addition, a large crop requires relatively little space. Many varieties produce 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 7 kilograms) of fruit per plant.
Researchers and growers have bred tomatoes to increase the number of fruits per plant and to improve their quality and other features. For example, leading varieties of tomatoes grown for processing were developed especially for harvesting by machines. Important fresh tomato types include beefsteak, plum, cherry, and grape tomatoes. Some common home garden varieties include Ponderosa and Better Boy Hybrid. A variety called Beefmaster may produce tomatoes that weigh more than 2 pounds (1 kilogram). Micro-Tom is a variety small enough to grow in a flower pot. The variety called Solar set produces high-quality tomatoes at unusually high temperatures and humidity levels.
Growing, harvesting, and processing.
Tomato seeds require 75 to 85 days to develop into mature plants with ripe fruits. In areas that have a long growing season, seeds are planted outdoors. They are planted indoors in areas where the growing season is too short for outdoor development. Young tomato plants obtained from seeds are transplanted outdoors when the seedlings reach four to six weeks old. Transplanting occurs about two weeks after the last frost of spring because cold weather can damage the plants.
In gardens and greenhouses, people support most tomato plants with stakes or trellises to keep them from spreading on the ground. Such supports enable growers to place the plants closer together, thus increasing the yield of each unit of land. The supports also help produce a better quality fruit and prevent disease called fruit rot by keeping the fruits off moist ground.
Common tomato diseases include mosaic virus and the fungal diseases early blight, fusarium wilt, and verticillium wilt (see Wilt ). Several kinds of insects and worms also attack tomatoes. Plant breeders have developed varieties of the plants that resist some diseases and pests. In addition, many growers use chemicals and biological control methods to fight tomato enemies.
Most tomatoes raised to be eaten fresh are picked by hand. Home gardeners pick tomatoes when they are ripe. Commercial growers pick them before they fully ripen because unripe tomatoes are less easily damaged during shipping. Workers often use a chemical called ethylene to ripen the tomatoes at a packing house. They then ship the ripened produce to warehouses in market areas.
In many industrialized countries, farmers typically use machines to harvest tomatoes grown for processing. Such tomatoes are harvested when ripe. Workers then wash and scald them. Scalding loosens the skins and makes peeling easier. After the tomatoes have been peeled, they undergo different processes, depending on the final product. For example, tomatoes may be cooked or strained. Workers then pack the product into containers, which are heated to destroy harmful bacteria and fungi. Finally, the containers are cooled, labeled, and stored for shipping.
History.
Tomatoes originated in South America. The Spanish probably brought them to Europe from Mexico during the mid-1500’s. People in Spain and Italy then began to grow tomatoes as food. However, many people considered them poisonous because of their close relationship to several poisonous plants. As a result, tomatoes did not become widely accepted as food until the early 1800’s. Tomatoes were sometimes called love apples, perhaps because of a superstition that eating them made people fall in love.
