As part of the “Al Rescate del Tomate criollo” project [“To the Rescue of Creole Tomato”], which seeks to recover tomato flavour through the collection, exchange and collaborative breeding of creole tomatoes, the Closing workshop of Creole Tomato 2023/2024 season was held virtually on June 26. More than 30 grower-breeders from different regions of the country participated in the workshop”.
There, Bioleft teams, the genetics department of the Agronomy School from the University of Buenos Aires (FAUBA) and the Gorina Experimental Station of the Agrarian Development Ministry of Buenos Aires Province (MDA) shared the results of the collaborative evaluation of three creole tomato varieties: “Aime” (number 7), “No me olvides” (56) and “La Piqui” (172). To determine the seed variability and behaviour of these variabilities, in this 2023-2024 season, the following characteristics were evaluated:
- Germination power (GP): Component of seed quality. Indicates the proportion of seeds that manage to germinate and develop into a plant.
- Tolerance to hydric stress: Plant capacity to develop in drought or high temperatures.
- Health: Determines the susceptibility to pests and diseases
- Post-harvesting duration: The time the fruits retain their characteristics after being harvested.
- Fruit tasting: Determines fruit organoleptic qualities. Flavour, aroma and texture, among other characteristics, were evaluated.
Regarding germination power, there were no significant differences between the varieties, with Aimé (7) having the highest germination power (76% of GP) .
Hydric stress tolerance and healthy variables were measured on a 1 to 5 scale, with values near 4 for the three varieties. Post-harvesting duration was around 10 days for each case.
Regarding harvested fruit tasting, the Aime (7) variety was the sweetest and least acidic, La Piqui (172) variety was the juiciest, and with the softer pulp. The latter and the No me olvides (56) variety, registered the aroma of ripe tomato.
Then, Gabriela Aungat and Nicolás Davico, two evaluators who participated in this collaborative evaluation season, shared their learnings, challenges and motivations.
Gabriela is from Dina Huapi city (Rio Negro province), has been farming for a long time and has been participating in the project for 3 years. During this journey, she told us that she learned a lot, acquiring valuable knowledge about plant development, how to observe blooming, and what things to keep in mind to promote more flowers and for all of them to prosper. Also, she learnt much about light needs and ideal temperatures for optimum plant development. The weather was one of the season’s challenges, since it was hot at the beginning of the season and there were some early frosts. As for diseases and pests, she worked with urban growers to develop biopreparations and managed to control them.
Nicolas lives in Esperanza (Santa Fe province) and has an urban garden with his family. He proudly showed us the day’s harvest, celebrating bringing fresh tomatoes to the table in July. “There is still no frost in the city”, told us. We noted that the plants suffered from the high temperatures (nearly 40°C) and the intense sun. In December all his plants got sick, and he had to remove them. He started again from the seed, and since April he has been getting tomatoes. By this time, he sees how the plants are decreasing their production, “the flavour changes a bit, but they are still amazing”. His main motivation is to be able to share the tomatoes with his family: “We did a tomato tasting and seeing the face of my children tasting a cherry is what motivates me the most”.
FAUBA team introduced concepts such as hybridization and crossbreeding. Then, they shared the works they had been carrying forward to obtain hybrids of interest from the varieties evaluated within the project. If you want to see again the video to learn more, check it out here:
These new materials in the selection process were tasted last April 12 at the XII Extension Day at FAUBA. If you want to remember the event, check it out here.
Of all the varieties, the one that had the best flavour was the wild variety “LA”. Among the hybrids, the best score was the “X”. Among the Cherry varieties, the best flavour corresponded to the variety “86”.
Then, Ignacio Castro, the technician in charge of Gorina Experimental Station trials, explained important aspects related to crop management. Plant spacing criteria were exposed (a minimum of 35cm) and the basics of bud-clearing, leaf-removing and staking practices were presented. These practices favour the development and growth of the fruits.
He also explained pests and diseases affecting tomato, their symptoms and control techniques. One of the main diseases is the Tomato Rugose virus, which recently entered the country through hybrid tomato seeds. Given that the country lacked materials resistant to the virus, it caused great losses and complications in the season. The main symptoms of the virus are deformation, wrinkled aspect and the appearance of chlorotic mottling on leaves. The fruits suffer discolouration, bronze spots with roughness, and irregular ripening. It´s transmitted by mechanical inoculation, contact between plants, crop labouring and the use of infected seed. If you want an easy guide, check out this brochure.
Other diseases of importance for tomato crops are Leaf spot (Septoria lycopersici), Early blight (Alternaria solanii) and Powdery mildew (Erysiphe spp.). The main pest mentioned was the Tomato Moth (Tuta Absoluta). If you are interested in knowing more, here is more information.
Enfermedades foliares en tomate.
Ignacio shared the results of the evaluations carried out during this season, in which 80 varieties of creole tomato were evaluated under an agroecological scheme. A harvest record was kept, writing the number and weight of fruits and measuring each variety’s yield per plant.
At the end of the workshop, Bioleft highlighted the commitment and participation of the more than 20 urban growers who, throughout the season, cultivated and evaluated the three-creole tomato varieties, completed the recording forms and interacted with other people in WhatsApp groups. We celebrate the autonomous meetings and exchanges between project participants, as the one held by Yael, Haydeé and Myriam that we had shared in this post.
As an end to the workshop, everyone was invited to participate in the upcoming collaborative evaluation season for creole tomato (2024/2025). On this opportunity, varieties of plum tomato will be evaluated in addition to the three varieties mentioned earlier (Aimé, No me olvides and La Piqui).
We thank everyone for their commitment and participation, both in the evaluation campaign and in the workshop.
If you want to join us don´t hesitate to reach us through our social media account. Soon we will share the registration forms.