Pingali dhanti for intercultural operation in tomato

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop. At present, about 160 million tonnes of fresh tomatoes are produced from 4.7 million ha(FAOSTAT, 2011).Tomatoes are native to South America, but were brought to Europe sometime in the 15th century, where they soon became popular and were exported around the world. For a long time tomatoes were known by the name Lycopersicon esculentum, but recent work has shown that they are part of the genus Solanum - as Linnaeus recognized when he first described the species. The tomato is consumed in diverse forms, including raw, as an ingredient in several dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While it is botanically a berry fruit, it is considered avegetable for culinary purposes. The fruit is rich in lycopene, which has beneficial health effects. The plants typically grow to 1–3 meters in height and have a weak stem that often sprawls over the ground. It is a perennial in its native habitat, although often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. Most cultivars produce red fruits, but a number of genotypes with yellow, orange, pink, purple, green, black, or white fruit are also available. Multi-colored and striped fruitsare also quite striking. Tomatoes grown forcanning and sauces are known as plum tomatoes, which typically have lower water contentwith elongated fruits.