The tomato is the edible

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. C ...

. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , from which the English word ''tomato'' derived. Its domestication and use as a cultivated food may have originated with the

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s of Mexico. The

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl l ...

used tomatoes in their cooking at the time of the

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...

, and after the Spanish encountered the tomato for the first time after their contact with the

, they brought the plant to Europe, in a widespread transfer of plants known as the

Columbian exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...

. From there, the tomato was introduced to other parts of the European-colonized world during the 16th century. Tomatoes are a significant source of

umami Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...

flavor. They are consumed in diverse ways: raw or cooked, and in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While tomatoes are fruits— botanically classified as berries—they are commonly used culinarily as a vegetable ingredient or

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal. Numerous varieties of the tomato plant are widely grown in temperate climates across the world, with

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

s allowing for the production of tomatoes throughout all seasons of the year. Tomato plants typically grow to in height. They are vines that have a weak stem that sprawls and typically needs support. Indeterminate tomato plants are

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

in their native habitat, but are cultivated as annuals. (Determinate, or bush, plants are annuals that stop growing at a certain height and produce a crop all at once.) The size of the tomato varies according to the cultivar, with a range of in width.

Names

Grape tomatoes on the vine at Ljubljana Central Market

Etymology

The word ''tomato'' comes from the Spanish , which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word , meaning 'swelling fruit'; also 'fat water' or 'fat thing'. The native Mexican tomatillo is . When Aztecs started to cultivate the fruit to be larger, sweeter and red, they called the new variety (or ) (), ('plump with navel' or 'fat water with navel'). The specific name ''lycopersicum'' (from the 1753 book ) is of Greek origin (''λύκοπερσικων; lykopersikon''), meaning 'wolf peach'.

Pronunciation

The usual pronunciations of ''tomato'' are (usual in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

) and (usual in

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly ...

). The word's dual pronunciations were immortalized in Ira and

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's 1937 song "

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film '' Shall We Dance'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The she ...

" ("You like and I like / You like and I like ") and have become a symbol for nitpicking pronunciation disputes. In this capacity, it has even become an American and British slang term: saying "" when presented with two choices can mean "What's the difference?" or "It's all the same to me".

Botany

Description

Tomato plants are vines, initially

decumbent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

, typically growing or more above the ground if supported, although erect bush varieties have been bred, generally tall or shorter. Indeterminate types are "tender" perennials, dying annually in temperate climates (they are originally native to tropical highlands), although they can live up to three years in a greenhouse in some cases. Determinate types are annual in all climates. Tomato plants are dicots, and grow as a series of branching stems, with a terminal bud at the tip that does the actual growing. When the tip eventually stops growing, whether because of pruning or flowering, lateral buds take over and grow into other, fully functional, vines. Green Tomato

Tomato vines are typically pubescent, meaning covered with fine short hairs. The hairs facilitate the vining process, turning into roots wherever the plant is in contact with the ground and moisture, especially if the vine's connection to its original root has been damaged or severed. Most tomato plants have

compound leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

, and are called regular leaf (RL) plants, but some cultivars have simple leaves known as potato leaf (PL) style because of their resemblance to that particular relative. Of RL plants, there are variations, such as rugose leaves, which are deeply grooved, and variegated, angora leaves, which have additional colors where a genetic mutation causes

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to ...

to be excluded from some portions of the leaves. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

are long, odd pinnate, with five to nine leaflets on petioles, each leaflet up to long, with a serrated margin; both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. Their flowers, appearing on the apical meristem, have the anthers fused along the edges, forming a column surrounding the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils ...

's style. Flowers in domestic cultivars can be self-fertilizing. The flowers are across, yellow, with five pointed lobes on the

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

terms, tomato is regarded as a vegetable, its fruit is classified botanically as a

. As a true fruit, it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization, its flesh comprising the pericarp walls. The fruit contains hollow spaces full of seeds and moisture, called locular cavities. These vary, among cultivated species, according to type. Some smaller varieties have two cavities, globe-shaped varieties typically have three to five,

beefsteak tomato A beef tomato (British English) or beefsteak tomato (American English) is one of the largest varieties of cultivated tomatoes, some weighing or more. Most are pink or red with numerous small seed compartments (locules) distributed throughout the ...

es have a great number of smaller cavities, while paste tomatoes have very few, very small cavities. For propagation, the seeds need to come from a mature fruit, and be dried or fermented before germination.

Classification

In 1753, Linnaeus placed the tomato in the genus '' Solanum'' (alongside the potato) as ''Solanum lycopersicum''. In 1768, Philip Miller moved it to its own genus, naming it ''Lycopersicon esculentum''. The name came into wide use, but was technically in breach of the plant naming rules because Linnaeus's species name ''lycopersicum'' still had priority. Although the name ''Lycopersicum lycopersicum'' was suggested by Karsten (1888), it is not used because it violates the International Code of Nomenclature barring the use of tautonyms in botanical nomenclature. The corrected name ''Lycopersicon lycopersicum'' (Nicolson 1974) was technically valid, because Miller's genus name and Linnaeus's species name differ in exact spelling, but since ''Lycopersicon esculentum'' has become so well known, it was officially listed as a ''nomen conservandum'' in 1983, and would be the correct name for the tomato in classifications which do not place the tomato in the genus ''Solanum''. Genetic evidence has now shown that Linnaeus was correct to put the tomato in the genus ''Solanum'', making ''Solanum lycopersicum'' the correct name. Both names, however, will probably be found in the literature for some time. Two of the major reasons for considering the genera separate are the leaf structure (tomato leaves are markedly different from any other ''Solanum''), and the biochemistry (many of the alkaloids common to other ''Solanum'' species are conspicuously absent in the tomato). On the other hand, hybrids of tomato and diploid potato can be created in the lab by

somatic fusion Somatic fusion, also called protoplast fusion, is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants are fused together to form a new hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid. Hybrids have be ...

, and are partially fertile, providing evidence of the close relationship between these species.

Genetics and genetic modification

Genome

An international consortium of researchers from 10 countries, began sequencing the tomato genome in 2004. A prerelease version of the genome was made available in December 2009. The complete genome for the cultivar Heinz 1706 was published on 31 May 2012 in ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

''. The latest reference genome published in 2021 had 799 MB and encodes 34,384 (predicted) proteins, spread over 12 chromosomes.

Genetic modification

Since many other fruits, like strawberries, apples,

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". The ...

s, and

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s share the same characteristics and genes, researchers stated the published genome could help to improve food quality, food security and reduce costs of all of these fruits. The first commercially available

genetically modified food Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Gene ...

was a tomato called Flavr Savr, which was engineered to have a longer shelf life. However, it is no longer commercially available. Scientists are continuing to develop tomatoes with new traits not found in natural crops, such as increased resistance to pests or environmental stresses or better flavor.

Breeding

The Tomato Genetic Resource Center, Germplasm Resources Information Network, AVRDC, and numerous seed banks around the world store seed representing genetic variations of value to modern agriculture. These seed stocks are available for legitimate breeding and research efforts. While individual breeding efforts can produce useful results, the bulk of tomato breeding work is at universities and major agriculture-related corporations. These efforts have resulted in significant regionally adapted breeding lines and hybrids, such as the Mountain series from North Carolina. Corporations including Heinz, Monsanto, BHNSeed, and Bejoseed have breeding programs that attempt to improve production, size, shape, color, flavor, disease tolerance, pest tolerance, nutritional value, and numerous other traits.

Fruit versus vegetable

Botanically, a tomato is a fruit—a

, consisting of the

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant. However, the tomato is considered a " culinary vegetable" because it has a much lower sugar content than culinary fruits; because it is more savoury (umami) than sweet, it is typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, rather than as a

dessert Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts o ...

. Tomatoes are not the only food source with this ambiguity;

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orang ...

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis' ...

s, aubergines/eggplants, avocados, and

squashes Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

of all kinds (such as courgettes/zucchini and pumpkins) are all botanically fruit, yet cooked as vegetables. The confusion on whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables has led to legal dispute in the United States. In 1887, U.S.

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and po ...

laws that imposed a duty on vegetables, but not on fruit, caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. In ''

Nix v. Hedden ''Nix v. Hedden'', 149 U.S. 304 (1893), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 9–0, that the tomato should be classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit for purposes of tariffs, imports, and customs. ...

'', the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

settled the tariff controversy on May 10, 1893, by declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use—they are generally served with dinner and not dessert. The holding of this case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff of 1883, and the court did not purport to reclassify the tomato for botanical or other purposes.

History

Naturalis Biodiversity Center - Solanum lycopersicum var

The wild ancestor of the tomato, ''

Solanum pimpinellifolium ''Solanum pimpinellifolium'', commonly known as the currant tomato or pimp, is a wild species of tomato native to Ecuador and Peru but naturalized elsewhere, such as the Galápagos Islands. Its small fruits are edible, and it is commonly grown in ...

'', is native to western South America. These wild versions were the size of peas. The first evidence of domestication points to the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

s and other peoples in Mesoamerica, who used the fruit fresh and in their cooking. The Spanish first introduced tomatoes to Europe, where they became used in Spanish food. In France, Italy and northern Europe, the tomato was initially grown as an ornamental plant. It was regarded with suspicion as a food because botanists recognized it as a

nightshade The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...

, a relative of the poisonous belladonna. This was exacerbated by the interaction of the tomato's acidic juice with

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades ...

plates. The leaves and fruit contain

tomatine Tomatine (sometimes called tomatin or lycopersicin) is a glycoalkaloid, found in the stems and leaves of tomato plants, and in the fruits at much lower concentrations. Chemically pure tomatine is a white crystalline solid at standard temperature ...

, which in large quantities would be toxic. However, the ripe fruit contains a much lower amount of tomatine than the immature fruit.

Mesoamerica

The exact date of domestication is unknown; by 500 BC, it was already being cultivated in southern Mexico and probably other areas. The Pueblo people are thought to have believed that those who witnessed the ingestion of tomato seeds were blessed with powers of divination. The large, lumpy variety of tomato, a mutation from a smoother, smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be the direct ancestor of some modern cultivated tomatoes. The Aztecs raised several varieties of tomato, with red tomatoes called ''xictomatl'' and green tomatoes called ''tomatl'' ( Tomatillo).

Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún, OFM (; – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, he ...

reported seeing a great variety of tomatoes in the Aztec market at Tenochtitlán (Mexico City): ". . . large tomatoes, small tomatoes, leaf tomatoes, sweet tomatoes, large serpent tomatoes, nipple-shaped tomatoes," and tomatoes of all colors from the brightest red to the deepest yellow. Bernardino de Sahagún mentioned Aztecs cooking various sauces, some with and without tomatoes of different sizes, serving them in city markets: "foods sauces, hot sauces; fried ood olla-cooked ood juices, sauces of juices, shredded oodwith

chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, with

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

seeds ost_likely_Cucurbita_pepo.html" ;"title="Cucurbita_pepo.html" ;"title="ost likely Cucurbita pepo">ost likely Cucurbita pepo">Cucurbita_pepo.html" ;"title="ost likely Cucurbita pepo">ost likely Cucurbita pepo with tomatoes, with smoked chile, with hot chile, with yellow chile, with mild red chile sauce, yellow chile sauce, hot chile sauce, with "bird excrement" sauce, sauce of smoked chile, heated [sauces], bean sauce; [he sells] toasted beans, cooked beans, mushroom sauce, sauce of small squash, sauce of large tomatoes, sauce of ordinary tomatoes, sauce of various kinds of sour herbs, avocado sauce."

Spanish distribution

Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

Hernán Cortés may have been the first to transfer a small yellow tomato to Europe after he captured the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, in 1521. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in a herbal written in 1544 by

Pietro Andrea Mattioli Pietro Andrea Gregorio Mattioli (; 12 March 1501 – ) was a doctor and naturalist born in Siena. Biography He received his MD at the University of Padua in 1523, and subsequently practiced the profession in Siena, Rome, Trento and Gorizia ...

, an Italian physician and botanist, who suggested that a new type of

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

had been brought to Italy that was blood red or golden color when mature and could be divided into segments and eaten like an eggplant—that is, cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oil. It was not until ten years later that tomatoes were named in print by Mattioli as ''pomi d'oro'', or "golden apples". After the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish distributed the tomato throughout their colonies in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...

. They also took it to the Philippines, from where it spread to southeast Asia and then the entire Asian continent. The Spanish also brought the tomato to Europe. It grew easily in Mediterranean climates, and cultivation began in the 1540s. It was probably eaten shortly after it was introduced, and was certainly being used as food by the early 17th century in Spain.

China

The tomato was introduced to China, likely via the Philippines or Macau, in the 1500s. It was given the name ''fānqié'' (barbarian eggplant), as the Chinese named many foodstuffs introduced from abroad, but referring specifically to early introductions.

Italy

The recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to at least 31 October 1548, when the house steward of

Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...

, the grand duke of Tuscany, wrote to the Medici private secretary informing him that the basket of tomatoes sent from the grand duke's Florentine estate at

Torre del Gallo ''Torre'' (plurals ''torri'' and ''torres'') means ''tower'' in seven Romance languages ( Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italian, Occitan and Corsican) and may refer to: Biology * Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrome ...

"had arrived safely". Tomatoes were grown mainly as ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. For example, the Florentine aristocrat Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they "were to be sought only for their beauty", and were grown only in gardens or flower beds. The tomato's ability to mutate and create new and different varieties helped contribute to its success and spread throughout Italy. However, even in areas where the climate supported growing tomatoes, their habit of growing to the ground suggested low status. They were not adopted as a staple of the peasant population because they were not as filling as other fruits already available. Additionally, both toxic and inedible varieties discouraged many people from attempting to consume or prepare any other varieties. In certain areas of Italy, such as Florence, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration, until it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century. The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources. Unique varieties were developed over the next several hundred years for uses such as dried tomatoes, sauce tomatoes, pizza tomatoes, and tomatoes for long-term storage. These varieties are usually known for their place of origin as much as by a variety name. For example, ''

Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio The Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio or sometimes just ''Pomodorino Vesuviano'', is a grape tomato grown in Naples, Italy, and has PDO protected status, which was granted in 2009.

'' is the "hanging tomato of Vesuvius", or the well known and highly-prized San Marzano plum tomato grown in that region.

Britain

Tomatoes for sale in a UK supermarket 2013

Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s. One of the earliest cultivators was

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, c. 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular gard ...

, a

barber-surgeon The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbers ...

. Gerard's ''Herbal'', published in 1597, and largely

plagiarized Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy. Nonetheless, he believed it was poisonous (in fact, the plant and raw fruit do have low levels of

, but are not generally dangerous; see below). Gerard's views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and its North American colonies. However, by the mid-18th century, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain, and before the end of that century, the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' stated the tomato was "in daily use" in soups,

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

s, and as a garnish. They were not part of the average person's diet, and though by 1820 they were described as "to be seen in great abundance in all our vegetable markets" and to be "used by all our best cooks", reference was made to their cultivation in gardens still "for the singularity of their appearance", while their use in cooking was associated with exotic Italian or Jewish cuisine.

India

The tomato arrived in India by the way of Portuguese explorers, in the 16th century. It was grown from the 18th century onwards for the British. Even today, in Bengal, the alternative name is "Biliti Begun" ( bn, বিলিতি বেগুন), meaning "Foreign Eggplant" It was then adopted widely as it is well suited to India's climate, with Uttarakhand as one of the main producers.

Middle East and North Africa

The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East by John Barker, British consul in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

''circa'' 1799 to 1825. Nineteenth century descriptions of its consumption are uniformly as an ingredient in a cooked dish. In 1881, it is described as only eaten in the region "within the last forty years". Today, the tomato is a critical and ubiquitous part of Middle Eastern cuisine, served fresh in salads (e.g.,

Arab salad Arab salad or Arabic salad is any of a variety of salad dishes that form part of Arab cuisine. Combining many different fruits and spices, and often served as part of a mezze, Arab salads include those from Algeria and Tunisia such as the "Algeri ...

, Israeli salad,

Shirazi salad Shirazi salad ( fa, سالاد شیرازی ''sālād shirāzi'') is an Iranian salad that originated from and is named after Shiraz in southern Iran. It is a relatively modern dish, dating to sometime after the introduction of the tomato to Iran ...

and Turkish salad), grilled with

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

s and other dishes, made into sauces, and so on.

United States

NRCSHI07018 - Hawaii (716072)(NRCS Photo Gallery)

The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is today South Carolina. They may have been introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and probably in other parts of the Southeast as well. Possibly, some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America. Some early American advocates of the culinary use of the tomato included

Michele Felice Cornè Michele Felice Cornè (1752–1845) was an artist born in Elba who settled in the United States. He lived in Salem and Boston, Massachusetts; and in Newport, Rhode Island. He painted marine scenes, portraits, and interior decorations such as fir ...

and

Robert Gibbon Johnson Robert Gibbon Johnson (July 23, 1771 – October 2, 1850), also known as Colonel Johnson, was an American gentleman farmer, historian, horticulturalist, judge, soldier and statesman who lived in Salem, New Jersey. He is especially renowned for t ...

. Early tomato breeders included Henry Tilden in Iowa and a Dr. Hand in Baltimore. Alexander W. Livingston receives much credit for developing numerous varieties of tomato for both home and commercial gardeners. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1937 yearbook declared that "half of the major varieties were a result of the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the tomato." Livingston's first breed of tomato, the Paragon, was introduced in 1870, the beginning of a great tomato culture enterprise in the county. In 1875, he introduced the Acme, which was said to be involved in the parentage of most of the tomatoes introduced by him and his competitors for the next twenty-five years.About Reynoldsburg
ci.reynoldsburg.oh.us When Livingston began his attempts to develop the tomato as a commercial crop, his aim had been to grow tomatoes smooth in contour, uniform in size, and sweet in flavor. He eventually developed over seventeen different varieties of the tomato plant. Today, the crop is grown in every state in the Union. Because of the long growing season needed for this heat-loving crop, several states in the US Sun Belt became major tomato-producers, particularly Florida and California. In California, tomatoes are grown under irrigation for both the fresh fruit market and for

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...

and processing. The

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institu ...

(UC Davis) became a major center for research on the tomato. The C.M. Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center at UC Davis is a gene bank of wild relatives, monogenic mutants and miscellaneous genetic stocks of tomato. The center is named for the late Dr. Charles M. Rick, a pioneer in tomato genetics research. Research on processing tomatoes is also conducted by the California Tomato Research Institute in Escalon, California. In California, growers have used a method of cultivation called

dry-farming Dryland farming and dry farming encompass specific agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated cultivation of crops. Dryland farming is associated with drylands, areas characterized by a cool wet season (which charges the soil with virtual ...

, especially with Early Girl tomatoes. This technique encourages the plant to send roots deep to find existing moisture in soil that retains moisture, such as clayey soil.

Modern commercial varieties

The poor taste and lack of sugar in modern garden and commercial tomato varieties resulted from breeding tomatoes to ripen uniformly red. This change occurred after discovery of a mutant "u" phenotype in the mid 20th century that ripened . This was widely cross-bred to produce red fruit without the typical green ring around the stem on uncross-bred varieties. Prior to general introduction of this trait, most tomatoes produced more sugar during ripening, and were sweeter and more flavorful. Evidence has been found that 10–20% of the total carbon fixed in the fruit can be produced by photosynthesis in the developing fruit of the normal U phenotype. The u genetic mutation encodes a factor that produces defective chloroplasts with lower density in developing fruit, resulting in a lighter green colour of unripe fruit, and repression of sugars accumulation in the resulting ripe fruit by 10–15%. Perhaps more important than their role in photosynthesis, the fruit chloroplasts are remodelled during ripening into chlorophyll-free

chromoplast Chromoplasts are plastids, heterogeneous organelles responsible for pigment synthesis and storage in specific photosynthetic eukaryotes. It is thought that like all other plastids including chloroplasts and leucoplasts they are descended from sym ...

s that synthesize and accumulate the

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, ...

s lycopene,

β-carotene β-Carotene is an organic, strongly coloured red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits. It is a member of the carotenes, which are terpenoids (isoprenoids), synthesized biochemically from eight isoprene units and thus having 40 ...

, and other metabolites that are sensory and nutritional assets of the ripe fruit. The potent chloroplasts in the dark-green shoulders of the U phenotype are beneficial here, but have the disadvantage of leaving green shoulders near the stems of the ripe fruit, and even cracked yellow shoulders, apparently because of oxidative stress due to overload of the photosynthetic chain in direct sunlight at high temperatures. Hence genetic design of a commercial variety that combines the advantages of types u and U requires fine tuning, but may be feasible. Furthermore, breeders of modern tomato cultivars typically strive to produce tomato plants exhibiting improved yield, shelf life, size, and tolerance/resistance to various environmental pressures, including disease. However, these breeding efforts have yielded unintended negative consequences on various tomato fruit attributes. For instance, linkage drag is a phenomenon that has been responsible for alterations in the metabolism of the tomato fruit. Linkage drag describes the introduction of an undesired trait or allele into a plant during backcrossing. This trait/allele is physically linked (or is very close) to the desired allele along the chromosome. In introducing the beneficial allele, there exists a high likelihood that the poor allele is also incorporated into the plant. Thus, breeding efforts attempting to enhance certain traits (for example: larger fruit size) have unintentionally altered production of chemicals associated with, for instance, nutritional value and flavor. Breeders have turned to using wild tomato species as a source of alleles for the introduction of beneficial traits into modern tomato varieties. For example, wild tomato relatives may possess higher amounts of fruit solids (which are associated with greater sugar content) or resistance to diseases caused by microbes, such as resistance towards the early blight pathogen ''Alternaria solani''. However, this tactic has limitations, for the incorporation of certain traits, such as pathogen resistance, can negatively impact other favorable phenotypes, such as fruit production.

Cultivation

The tomato is grown worldwide for its edible fruits, with thousands of cultivars. A fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 5–10–10 is often sold as tomato fertilizer or vegetable fertilizer, although manure and compost are also used. On average there are 150,000 seeds in a pound of tomato seeds.

Diseases

Tomato cultivars vary widely in their resistance to disease. Modern hybrids focus on improving disease resistance over the heirloom plants. Various forms of

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

and blight are common tomato afflictions, which is why tomato cultivars are often marked with a combination of letters that refer to specific disease resistance. The most common letters are: LB – '' late blight'', V – ''verticillium'' wilt, F – ''fusarium'' wilt strain I, FF – ''fusarium'' wilt strain I and II, N – ''

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant- parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a bro ...

s'', T – ''

tobacco mosaic virus ''Tobacco mosaic virus'' (TMV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus species in the genus '' Tobamovirus'' that infects a wide range of plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes character ...

'', and A – ''

alternaria ''Alternaria'' is a genus of Deuteromycetes fungi. All species are known as major plant pathogens. They are also common allergens in humans, growing indoors and causing hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions that sometimes lead to asthma. They ...

''. A common tomato disease is

. Handling cigarettes and other infected tobacco products can transmit the virus to tomato plants. Another particularly dreaded disease is

curly top Curly Top is a 1935 American musical romantic comedy film starring Shirley Temple, John Boles and Rochelle Hudson. Plot A bachelor wants to adopt an orphan, but she refuses to leave behind her older sister, so he adopts them both. The man eventu ...

, carried by the

beet leafhopper The beet leafhopper (''Circulifer tenellus''), also sometimes known as ''Neoaliturus tenellus'', is a species of leafhopper which belongs to the family Cicadellidae in the order Hemiptera. Morphology A lot of morphological diversity has been ...

, which interrupts the lifecycle. As the name implies, it has the symptom of making the top leaves of the plant wrinkle up and grow abnormally.

Bacterial wilt Bacterial wilt is a complex of diseases that occur in plants such as Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae (tomato, common bean, etc.) and are caused by the pathogens ''Erwinia tracheiphila'', a gram-negative bacterium, or '' Curtobacterium flaccumfacien ...

is another common disease impacting yield. Wang ''et al.'', 2019 find phage combination therapies reduce that impact, sometimes by reducing bacterial abundance and sometimes by selecting for resistant but slow growing genetics.

Pests

Some common tomato pests are the tomato bug,

stink bugs Stink bug or stinkbug is a common name for several insects and may refer to: * Any of several bugs in the true bug (hemipteran) family Pentatomidae **''Halyomorpha halys'', or brown marmorated stink bug **''Chinavia hilaris'', or green stink bug * ...

cutworm Cutworms are moth larvae that hide under litter or soil during the day, coming out in the dark to feed on plants. A larva typically attacks the first part of the plant it encounters, namely the stem, often of a seedling, and consequently cuts it ...

s, tomato hornworms and

tobacco hornworm ''Manduca sexta'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the Americas. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 '' Centuria Insectorum''. Commonly known as the Carolina sphinx moth and the tobacco hawk ...

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

cabbage looper The cabbage looper (''Trichoplusia ni'') is a medium-sized moth in the family Noctuidae, a family commonly referred to as owlet moths. Its common name comes from its preferred host plants and distinctive crawling behavior. Cruciferous vegetable ...

s, whiteflies,

tomato fruitworm ''Helicoverpa zea, ''commonly known as the corn earworm, is a species (formerly in the genus ''Heliothis'') in the family Noctuidae. The larva of the moth ''Helicoverpa zea'' is a major agricultural pest. Since it is polyphagous (feeds on many d ...

s, flea beetles, red spider mite,

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

s, and

Colorado potato beetle The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...

s. The tomato russet mite, '' Aculops lycopersici'', feeds on foliage and young fruit of tomato plants, causing shrivelling and necrosis of leaves, flowers, and fruit, possibly killing the plant. After an insect attack tomato plants produce

systemin Systemin is a plant peptide hormone involved in the wound response in the family Solanaceae. It was the first plant hormone that was proven to be a peptide having been isolated from tomato leaves in 1991 by a group led by Clarence A. Ryan. ...

, a plant peptide hormone. Systemin activates defensive mechanisms, such as the production of

protease inhibitors Protease inhibitors (PIs) are medications that act by interfering with enzymes that cleave proteins. Some of the most well known are antiviral drugs widely used to treat HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. These protease inhibitors prevent viral replicat ...

to slow the growth of insects. The hormone was first identified in tomatoes, but similar proteins have been identified in other species since.

Other disorders

Although not a disease as such, irregular supplies of water can cause growing or ripening fruit to split. Besides cosmetic damage, the splits may allow decay to start, although growing fruits have some ability to heal after a split. In addition, a deformity called

cat-facing Cat-facing, or catfacing, refers to a type of physiological damage affecting tomatoes and represented by scarring and cavities near the blossom end. It is the abnormal development of plant tissue affecting the ovary or female sex organ ( pistilate), ...

can be caused by pests, temperature stress, or poor soil conditions. Affected fruit usually remains edible, but its appearance may be unsightly.

Companion plants

Tomatoes serve, or are served by, a large variety of

companion plant Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, an ...

s. Among the most famous pairings is the tomato plant and carrots; studies supporting this relationship have produced a popular book about

companion planting Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, an ...

, ''Carrots Love Tomatoes''. The devastating tomato hornworm has a major predator in various

parasitic wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...

s, whose larvae devour the hornworm, but whose adult form drinks nectar from tiny-flowered plants like umbellifers. Several species of umbellifer are therefore often grown with tomato plants, including parsley,

Queen Anne's lace Queen Anne's lace is a common name for a number of plants in the family Apiaceae. including: * ''Ammi majus'', native in the Nile River Valley * '' Anthriscus sylvestris'', a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant * ''Daucus carota'', n ...

, and occasionally

dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growt ...

. These also attract predatory flies that attack various tomato pests.

Borage Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gard ...

is thought to repel the tomato hornworm moth. Plants with strong scents, like

alliums ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, David ...

(

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...

, garlic),

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach given their association with natural byproducts ...

(

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kn ...

oregano Oregano (, ; ''Origanum vulgare'') is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Oregano is a woody perennial pl ...

, spearmint) and French marigold, (''

Tagetes patula ''Tagetes patula'', the French marigold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Mexico and Guatemala with several naturalised populations in many other countries. It is widely cultivated as an easily grown bedding pl ...

'') are thought to mask the scent of the tomato plant, making it harder for pests to locate it, or to provide an alternative landing point, reducing the odds of the pests from attacking the correct plant. These plants may also subtly affect the flavor of tomato fruit.Companion Planting
. Homeandgardensite.com (15 January 2009). Retrieved on 5 September 2013.

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kn ...

is popularly recommended as a companion plant to the tomato. Common claims are that basil may deter pests or improve tomato flavor. However, in double-blind taste tests, basil did not significantly affect the taste of tomatoes when planted adjacent to them. Tomato plants can protect asparagus from

asparagus beetle ''Crioceris'', or asparagus beetle, is a genus of the family Chrysomelidae of beetles. The name is neo-Latin from Greek , ram and , horn. Not all species in the genus ''Crioceris'' feed on asparagus (e.g., ''C. nigropicta''). Some studies have ...

s, because they contain

solanine Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family within the genus ''Solanum'', such as the potato (''Solanum tuberosum''), the tomato (''Solanum lycopersicum''), and the eggplant (''Solanum melongena''). It can occu ...

that kills this pest, while asparagus plants contain

Asparagusic acid Asparagusic acid is an organosulfur compound with the molecular formula C4H6O2S2 and systematically named 1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid. The molecule consists of a heterocyclic disulfide functional group (a 1,2-dithiolane) with a carboxylic ...

that repels

s known to attack tomato plants. Marigolds also repel nematodes.

Pollination

In the wild, original state, tomatoes required cross- pollination; they were much more self-incompatible than domestic cultivars. As a floral device to reduce selfing, the

of wild tomatoes extends farther out of the flower than today's cultivars. The stamens were, and remain, entirely within the closed

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.pollinators (probably a species of halictid bee) did not move with them. The trait of self-fertility became an advantage, and domestic cultivars of tomato have been selected to maximize this trait. This is not the same as self-pollination, despite the common claim that tomatoes do so. That tomatoes pollinate themselves poorly without outside aid is clearly shown in

situations, where pollination must be aided by artificial wind, vibration of the plants (one brand of vibrator is a wand called an "electric bee" that is used manually), or more often today, by cultured

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

s. The

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

of a tomato flower is shaped like a hollow tube, with the pollen produced within the structure, rather than on the surface, as in most species. The pollen moves through pores in the anther, but very little pollen is shed without some kind of externally-induced motion. The ideal vibratory frequencies to release pollen grains are provided by an insect, such as a bumblebee, or the original wild halictid pollinator, capable of engaging in a behavior known as

buzz pollination Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an opening at only ...

, which

honey bees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmop ...

cannot perform. In an outdoors setting, wind or animals usually provide sufficient motion to produce commercially viable crops.

Fruit formation

Pollination and fruit formation depend on meiosis. Meiosis is central to the processes by which diploid microspore mother cells within the anther give rise to haploid pollen grains, and megaspore mother cells in ovules that are contained within the ovary give rise to haploid nuclei. Union of haploid nuclei from pollen and ovule (fertilization) can occur either by self- or cross-pollination. Fertilization leads to the formation of a diploid zygote that can then develop into an embryo within the emerging seed. Repeated fertilizations within the ovary are accompanied by maturation of the ovary to form the tomato fruit. Homologs of the ''

recA RecA is a 38 kilodalton protein essential for the repair and maintenance of DNA. A RecA structural and functional homolog has been found in every species in which one has been seriously sought and serves as an archetype for this class of homolo ...

'' gene, including ''

rad51 DNA repair protein RAD51 homolog 1 is a protein encoded by the gene ''RAD51''. The enzyme encoded by this gene is a member of the RAD51 protein family which assists in repair of DNA double strand breaks. RAD51 family members are homologous to th ...

'', play a key role in homologous recombinational repair of DNA during meiosis. A ''rad51'' homolog is present in the anther of tomato (''Lycopersicon esculentum''), suggesting that recombinational repair occurs during meiosis in tomato.

Hydroponic and greenhouse cultivation

Tomatoes are often grown in

s in cooler climates, and cultivars such as the British 'Moneymaker' and a number of cultivars grown in Siberia are specifically bred for indoor growing. In more temperate climates, it is not uncommon to start seeds in greenhouses during the late winter for future transplant. Greenhouse tomato production in large-acreage commercial greenhouses and owner-operator stand-alone or multiple-bay greenhouses is on the increase, providing fruit during those times of the year when field-grown fruit is not readily available. Smaller sized fruit (cherry and grape), or cluster tomatoes (fruit-on-the-vine) are the fruit of choice for the large commercial greenhouse operators while the beefsteak varieties are the choice of owner-operator growers. Hydroponic technique is often used in hostile growing environments, as well as high-density plantings.

Picking and ripening

To facilitate transportation and storage, tomatoes are often picked unripe (green) and ripened in storage with

ethylene Ethylene ( IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds). Ethylene ...

. A machine-harvestable variety of tomato (the "square tomato") was developed in the 1950s by

's Gordie C. Hanna, which, in combination with the development of a suitable harvester, revolutionized the tomato-growing industry. This type of tomato is grown commercially near plants that process and can tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. They are harvested when ripe and are flavorful when picked. They are harvested 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a 12- to 14-week season, and immediately transported to packing plants, which operate on the same schedule. California is a center of this sort of commercial tomato production and produces about a third of the processed tomatoes produced in the world. In 1994, Calgene introduced a

genetically modified tomato A genetically modified tomato, or transgenic tomato, is a tomato that has had its genes modified, using genetic engineering. The first trial genetically modified food was a tomato engineered to have a longer shelf life (the Flavr Savr), which was o ...

called the '' FlavrSavr'', which could be vine ripened without compromising shelf life. However, the product was not commercially successful, and was sold only until 1997.

Yield

The world dedicated 4.8 million hectares in 2012 for tomato cultivation and the total production was about 161.8 million tonnes. The average world farm yield for tomato was 33.6 tonnes per hectare, in 2012. Tomato farms in the Netherlands were the most productive in 2012, with a nationwide average of 476 tonnes per hectare, followed by Belgium (463 tonnes per hectare) and Iceland (429 tonnes per hectare)."FAOSTAT: Production-Crops, 2012 data"
''Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations'', August 2014

Records

As of 2008, the heaviest tomato harvested, weighed 3.51 kg (7 lb 12 oz), was of the cultivar "Delicious", and was grown by Gordon Graham of Edmond, Oklahoma in 1986. The largest tomato plant grown was of the cultivar "Sungold" and reached 19.8 m (65 ft) in length, grown by Nutriculture Ltd (UK) of Mawdesley, Lancashire, UK, in 2000. A massive "tomato tree" growing inside the Walt Disney World Resort's experimental greenhouses in

Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located ...

may have been the largest single tomato plant in the world. The plant has been recognized as a Guinness World Record Holder, with a harvest of more than 32,000 tomatoes and a total weight of .The country's only single vine "tomato tree" growing in The Land pavilion at Epcot
Walt Disney World News It yielded thousands of tomatoes at one time from a single vine. Yong Huang,

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unre ...

's manager of agricultural science, discovered the unique plant in Beijing, China. Huang brought its seeds to Epcot and created the specialized greenhouse for the fruit to grow. The vine grew golf ball-sized tomatoes, which were served at Walt Disney World restaurants. The tree developed a disease and was removed in April 2010 after about 13 months of life. File:Germinating tomatos.jpg, Tomato plants 7 days after planting File:Tomatoseedlings.jpg, Tomato seedlings growing indoors File:Tomato 27 days from planting seeds.jpg, 27 days after planting File:Tomato fruit and flowers at day 52.jpg, 52-day-old plant, first fruits File:Green Tomatoes.jpg, Tomatoes being collected from the field, Maharashtra, India

Production

In 2020, world production of tomatoes was 187 million tonnes, with China accounting for 35% of the total, followed by India, Turkey, and the United States as major producers (table).

Consumption

Though it is botanically a

, a subset of fruit, the tomato is a vegetable for culinary purposes because of its savoury flavour (see above). Although tomatoes originated in the Americas, they have become extensively used in Mediterranean cuisine. Ripe tomatoes contain significant

flavor and they are a key ingredient in

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...

, and are commonly used in pasta sauces. They are also used in

gazpacho Gazpacho (; ) or Gaspacho (), also called Andalusian gazpacho, is a cold soup and drink made of raw, blended vegetables. It originated in the southern regions of the Iberian peninsula and spread into other areas. Gazpacho is widely eaten in Sp ...

( Spanish cuisine) and ''

pa amb tomàquet ''Pa amb tomàquet'' () ("Bread with tomato"), is a traditional food of Catalan, Aragonese and Balearic cuisine . ''Pa amb tomàquet'' is considered a staple of Catalan cuisine and identity. While considered a signature toast dish in the Catalan ...

'' (

Catalan cuisine Catalan cuisine is the cuisine from Catalonia. It may also refer to the shared cuisine of Northern Catalonia and Andorra, the second of which has a similar cuisine to that of the neighbouring Alt Urgell and Cerdanya '' comarques'' and which i ...

). The tomato is now grown and eaten around the world. It is used in diverse ways, including raw in

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

s or in slices, stewed, incorporated into a wide variety of dishes, or processed into

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among oth ...

or tomato soup. Unripe green tomatoes can also be breaded and fried, used to make

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

, or pickled. Tomato juice is sold as a drink, and is used in cocktails such as the Bloody Mary.

Storage

Tomatoes keep best unwashed at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. It is not recommended to refrigerate them as this can harm the flavour. Tomatoes stored cold tend to lose their flavour permanently. Storing stem down can prolong shelf life, as it may keep from rotting too quickly. Tomatoes that are not yet ripe can be kept in a paper bag till ripening. Tomatoes are easy to preserve whole, in pieces, as

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (also known as ''salsa roja'' in Spanish or ''salsa di pomodoro'' in Italian) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are ...

or paste by home

. They are

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

ic enough to process in a water bath rather than a pressure cooker as most vegetables require. The fruit is also preserved by drying, often in the sun, and sold either in bags or in jars with oil.

Safety

Plant toxicity

The leaves, stem, and green unripe fruit of the tomato plant contain small amounts of the alkaloid

, whose effect on humans has not been studied. They also contain small amounts of

, a toxic alkaloid found in potato leaves and other plants in the nightshade family. However, solanine concentrations in foliage and green fruit are generally too small to be dangerous unless large amounts are consumed—for example, as greens. Small amounts of tomato foliage are sometimes used for flavoring without ill effect, and the green fruit of unripe red tomato varieties is sometimes used for cooking, particularly as

fried green tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel '' Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, Jess ...

. There are also tomato varieties with fully ripe fruit that is still green. Compared to potatoes, the amount of solanine in unripe green or fully ripe tomatoes is low. However, even in the case of potatoes, while solanine poisoning resulting from dosages several times the normal human consumption has been demonstrated, actual cases of poisoning from excessive consumption of potatoes are rare. Tomato plants can be toxic to dogs if they eat large amounts of the fruit, or chew plant material.

''Salmonella''

Tomatoes were linked to seven '' Salmonella'' outbreaks between 1990 and 2005, and may have been the cause of a salmonellosis outbreak causing 172 illnesses in 18 US states in 2006. The 2008 United States salmonellosis outbreak caused the temporary removal of tomatoes from stores and restaurants across the United States and parts of Canada, although other foods, including

jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scov ...

and serrano peppers, may have been involved.

Nutrition

A raw tomato is 95% water, contains 4% carbohydrates, and has less than 1% each of

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

and protein (table). In a reference amount, raw tomatoes supply 18 kilo

calories The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

and are a moderate source of vitamin C (17% of the Daily Value), but otherwise have no significant micronutrient content (table).

Research

There is no conclusive evidence to indicate that the lycopene in tomatoes or in supplements affects the onset of

cardiovascular diseases Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

or cancer. In the United States, supposed health benefits of consuming tomatoes, tomato products or lycopene to affect cancer cannot be mentioned on packaged food products without a qualified

health claim A health claim on a food label and in food marketing is a claim by a manufacturer of food products that their food will reduce the risk of developing a disease or condition. For example, it is claimed by the manufacturers of oat cereals that oat ...

statement. In a scientific review of potential claims for lycopene favorably affecting DNA, skin exposed to ultraviolet radiation, heart function and vision, the

European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...

concluded that the evidence for lycopene having any of these effects was inconclusive.

Host plant

The Potato Tuber moth ('' Phthorimaea operculella'') is an oligophagous insect that prefers to feed on plants of the family Solanaceae such as tomato plants. Female ''P. operculella'' use the leaves to lay their eggs and the hatched larvae will eat away at the

mesophyll A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

of the leaf.

In popular culture

The town of

Buñol Buñol (Valencian: ''Bunyol'') is a town and municipality in the province of Valencia, Spain. The municipality has an area of some 112 km², and is situated approximately 38 km west of the provincial and autonomous community capital city ...

, Spain, annually celebrates

La Tomatina ''La Tomatina'' () is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the east of Spain from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. Since 1945 it ...

, a festival centered on an enormous tomato fight. On 30 August 2007, 40,000 Spaniards gathered to throw of tomatoes at each other in the festival. Arrojando tomates desde un camión - La Tomatina 2010

Arrojando tomates desde un camión - La Tomatina 2010

Several US states have adopted the tomato as a state fruit or vegetable (see above). Tomatoes have been designated the state vegetable of New Jersey.

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

took both sides by declaring the ''South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato'' both the state fruit and the state vegetable in the same law, citing both its culinary and botanical classifications. In 2009, the state of Ohio passed a law making the tomato the state's official fruit. Tomato juice has been the official beverage of Ohio since 1965. Alexander W. Livingston, of

Reynoldsburg, Ohio Reynoldsburg is a city in Fairfield, Franklin, and Licking counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburban community in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The population was 41,076 at the 2020 census. History Reynoldsburg was originall ...

, played a large part in popularizing the tomato in the late 19th century; his efforts are commemorated in Reynoldsburg with an annual Tomato Festival. Flavr Savr was the first commercially grown genetically engineered food licensed for human consumption. Tomatkarnevalen i Närpes 1993c

Tomatoes are a popular "nonlethal" throwing weapon in mass protests, and there was a common tradition of throwing rotten tomatoes at bad performers on a stage during the 19th century; today this is usually referenced as a metaphor. Embracing it for this protest connotation, the Dutch Socialist party adopted the tomato as their logo. The US city of

calls itself "The Birthplace of the Tomato", claiming the first commercial variety of tomato was bred there in the 19th century. " Rotten Tomatoes" is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The name "Rotten Tomatoes" derives from the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes when disapproving of a poor stage performance.

Gallery

File:Heirloom tomatoes.jpg, Various heirloom tomato (UK: heritage tomato) cultivars File:Photo of various homegrown tomatoes.jpg, Homegrown multicolored tomatoes File:Heirlooms.jpg, A variety of cultivars, including Brandywine (biggest red), Black Krim (lower left) and Green Zebra (top left) File:Red Tomatoes with PLU code.jpg, Red tomatoes with PLU code in a supermarket.

References

External links

Tomato Genome Sequencing Project
– Sequencing of the twelve tomato chromosomes.
Tomato core collection database
– Phenotypes and images of 7,000 tomato cultivars {{Authority control Crops originating from Mexico Crops originating from indigenous Americans Crops originating from the Americas Fruit vegetables Fruits originating in North America Fruits originating in South America Plants described in 1753 Solanum