AGRONOMIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF LOCAL KIDNEY AND BELL PEPPER-SHAPED TOMATOES FROM PUEBLA AND OAXACA, MÉXICO

Abstract

Native or landrace tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) known as “deer eye”, “cherry”, “kidney” and “pepper-shaped” are widely used in the States of Puebla and Oaxaca, México, where they are cultivated for self-consumption and local commerce. These materials represent an important source of germplasm for tomato breeding programs. To describe the agronomic and morphological diversity of widely used landrace tomatoes in Puebla and Oaxaca, 40 accessions plus the commercial hybrid ‘SUN7705’ were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications and five plants per replicate. In order to characterize the morphology and agronomy of these genotypes, 20 traits were measured (plant diameter, height at 95 d, height to the first cluster, distance between clusters, days to flowering of the third cluster, number of flowers of the third cluster, days to maturity of the third cluster, number of fruits of the third cluster, total number of clusters, number of leaves, number of petals, cluster length, total number and total weight of fruits, average fruit weight, diameter, length and firmness of the fruit, number of locules, and total soluble solids). Variance was calculated through a combined analysis. Most traits showed significant differences (P ≤ 0.01) among genotypes. A principal component analysis showed that the first two components explained 77.03 % of the variation among collections. Materials with outstanding features in total soluble solids and precocity were identified in some “cherry”, “deer eye” and “kidney” type collections, that might be used directly as local varieties or as a source of germplasm. Bell pepper type tomatoes excelled in fruit size, soluble solids, firmness, with characteristics similar to the control hybrid (‘SUN7705’), so they also have potential for being used directly as varieties or source of germplasm for genetic improvement in “saladette” tomatoes, which are widely used at the national level.