Italia Ortofrutta - National Union has carried out the "Nationwide project for the comparison of processing tomato varieties and the improvement of environmental sustainability of the crop by reducing water consumption and introducing biodegradable mulches."
The project is co-financed by thirteen Producers' Organizations (Asipo, Op Ferrara, Asport, Cot, Opoa Marsia, Ortofrutta Sol Sud, Aoa, Apopa, Assodaunia, Apo Gargano Apom, Prima Op Bio, Apoc Salerno), which represent a total of more than 25,000 hectares of processing tomatoes, an annual production of more than 1.9 million tonnes, and about 1,700 member growers. It has the dual aim of testing the latest pre-commercial varieties directly in the POs' fields and increasing the environmental sustainability of the crop through the use of more environmentally friendly techniques. The project is therefore intended to be a decision-making tool and to guide POs towards the most efficient hybrids among the more recent and innovative ones in the country's various growing regions.
The approach to the research and innovation transfer activities implemented in the project is based on the direct involvement of the interested parties, in this case the POs and their technicians, who work in close collaboration with the scientific managers of CREA (Research Council dedicated to the agri-food sector). All the trials were conducted in field conditions, in a real crop situation, in order to verify the results of the different trials on the farms directly concerned.
The varietal comparison trials consisted of a comparison of three oblong fruit hybrids (Passenger, HMC 627147 and Fantix) and six square round fruit hybrids (Aprix, Vulspot, Blend, Dobler, UG 16112 and Waller). They were carried out between 2021 and 2022. The scientific responsibility of the project was entrusted to the CREA Horticulture and Plant Nursery Research Center, which supervised the experimental protocol and verified its correct application in all the test fields, accompanying the technicians of the POs throughout the cultivation cycle.
To simplify the presentation of the results, the provinces concerned (Parma, Ferrara, Livorno, Viterbo, L'Aquila, Caserta, Naples and Foggia) have been grouped into three production areas: North (PR and FE), Central Italy (LI, VT and AQ) and South (CE, NA and five locations in the province of FG). The performance of the varieties being tested was studied by taking into account the commercial yield (ripe product sent for processing) and the Brix degree (°Brix or optical residue). This last parameter is of fundamental importance, especially for the crops of the northern basin, where the delivered batches are also evaluated by processing operators on the basis of this criterion (the 2021 and 2022 agreements provided for a reference basis of 4.85°Brix).
Climatic conditions were marked in all three areas by prolonged hot and dry periods during the production cycle, particularly in 2022, with maximum temperatures frequently above 30°C, infrequent rainfall and low quantities of rain.
Considering the results of all the cultivated plots, average total productivity recorded in 2022 remained close to that of the previous year (116 mT/ha vs. 119 mT/ha), while the commercial yield underwent an average contraction estimated at about 10%. Similarly, the quality of the fruit, especially the Brix degree, underwent a significant drop in the last year of testing, of about 0.5 points on average, from 5.6° to 5.1°Brix.
Figure 1 shows the production (commercial yield) and quality (optical residue) results for each variety obtained by averaging the values measured in all the trial fields conducted.
The varieties Blend, Vulspot and Aprix (among the round-square hybrids) stood out for their good commercial yields (on average 114 mT/ha in 2021 and 98 mT/ha in 2022). Fantix had the highest yields of the oblong varieties in both years of the trial. Across all test sites, Aprix and Fantix also showed very stable behavior over the two-year period.
In terms of fruit quality, the oblong variety HMC 627147 stood out in both test years for its high optical residue values (6.0°Brix in 2021 and 5.6°Brix in 2022). The round-square varieties, with the exception of Blend in 2022, always gave average values above the minimum levels required by the industry (4.85°Brix). The best results, however, were achieved by Waller, UG 16112 and, to a lesser extent, by Dobler.
Figure 2 shows the results for the two years in the northern basin as an average of the two cultivated plots (PR and FE).
In the northern basin, the results (best in the first year and in the Ferrara area) highlighted for oblong varieties the high levels of commercial yield of Aprix (105 mT/ha, on average), excellent values of Brix degree obtained by HMC 627147 (6.2°Brix, on average) and, for round-square varieties, by UG16112 and Waller (5.8 and 5.7°Brix respectively).
In the central Italian basin, commercial yield and optical residue were strongly influenced by the year, with considerably better results in 2021, a year marked by significant differences between the three test sites (LI, VT and AQ). In this region, Aprix stood out in both years for its good commercial yields, but the best values were obtained by Vulspot and Blend. However, these two varieties gave the least interesting results in terms of quality (below the limits considered acceptable in the second year), while HMC 627147 was confirmed as the variety with the highest optical residue values compared to all varieties (oblong and round-square).
In the southern production basin, with two cultivated plots in Campania and five in the Foggia area in 2021, production and quality results appeared more stable across sites and less influenced by the test year. With the exception of the test plot in Gargano (Lesina) where commercial yields seem potentially lower (but of better quality), the obvious discrepancies recorded at some sites are probably due to fertigation management that still needs to be optimized. In this basin, the round-square varieties Vulspot, Blend and Aprix stood out with commercial yields above 100 mT/ha on average, and Fantix with a productivity of 97 mT/ha on average among the oblong varieties. Also in this southern production area, the optical residue values of the varieties compared never fell below 4.9°Brix, except for Blend in 2022 (4.7°Brix).
Some complementary data
Summary of results is available by clicking here.
Details (in Italian) about the "Progetto Nazionale di Confronto Varietale per il Pomodoro da Industria" are available by clicking here.
For further details about Italia Ortofrutta, click here.
Source: corriereortofrutticolo.it
