INFLUENCE OF CULTIVAR AND SUBTRATE ON QUA LITY AND POSTHARVEST STORAGE OF HYDROPONICALLY-GROWN GREENHOUSE TOMATO

Plants of nine tomato cultivar (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) of cont rasting breeding origins where grown under two growing systems using t he nutritive film technique (NFT) and a peat substrate. Planting densi ty was 3 plants m(-2). Yield of marketable fruit, culls and four fruit quality parameters (texture, colour, titratable acidity and total sol uble solids) were measured at harvest and over 28 d post-harvest. Two varieties were used: Trust, one of the most popular cultivars in Canad a, and Cencara a newly released cultivar with long-keeping quality. Ov er a 21-wk harvest period there was no significant difference for yiel d or for post-harvest characteristics between the two growth substrate s. Trust produced highest yields, compared to the other cultivars, fol lowed by Bounty with a yield 1.6 kg m(-2) lower. Bounty and Panther yi elded significantly greater masses of marketable fruit than the other cultivars. The new cultivar Cencara showed significantly lower total a nd marketable yields than the other cultivars, because of the small si ze of its fruit. At harvest and in storage, Cencara showed better keep ing qualities than Trust, while the latter had better eating qualities .