Two field trials were carried out to evaluate processing tomato cultivars in the Experimental Field of Bebedouro, Petrolina, Brazil, in the periods of May to October 1996 and 1997. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with 18 cultivars (IPA-5, XPH-5720, XPH-12066, XPH-12045, XPH-12068, XPH-12044, Spectrum-151, Spectrum-153, Spectrum-385, Nema-512, Nema-1435, Hypeel-153, Hypeel-108, PSP-58494, PSP-22210, Latino, Zenith and Condor), with four replications. The commercial yield ranged from 70.85 to 96.68 t/ha. The cultivars IPA-5, XPH-5720, Spectrum-151, Nema-512, XPH-12044, Spectrum-385, Hypeel-153 and XPH-12066 showed the highest commercial yields above 86.0 t/ha, the lowest yield being shown by the cultivar Spectrum-579, with 70,85 t/ha. When the yield was adjusted in function of ºBrix, similar results were observed, 'Zenith' and 'XPH-12045' being included among the highest yielding cultivars. The cultivars Nema-1435 (110.96g/fruit) and Hypeel-108 (101.54 g /fruit) showed the highest average weight of fruits. The soluble solids (Brix) contents ranged from 4.3% to 6.0%, and all hybrids showed higher contents than the open-pollinated variety IPA-5, which showed the lowest brix (4.3(0)), the highest contents being from 'PSP-22210' (6.0(0)) and 'Zenith' (5.8(0)). The results regarding fruit yield and quality allow us to recommend the cultivars XPH-5720, Spectrum-151, Nema-512, XPH-12044, Spectrum-385, Hypeel-153, XPH-12066, XPH-12045 and Zenith for the farmers, besides the traditional cultivar IPA-5.
Lycopersicon esculentum; processing tomato; yield; soluble solids; performance
