Table of contents:

• History, description, classification and origin;

• Cytology; floral biology and crossing techniques;
• Genetics of qualitative and quantitative traits;
• Germplasm resources;
• Breeding methods and objectives;
• Seed production and certification
 Introduction
 Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ) is one of the most
important solanaceous vegetable crops which can be
grown both under open field conditions and
greenhouses.(Sharma et al., 2019)
 It is self-fertilized and diploid plant with 2n=2x=24
chromosomes.(Abewoy Fentik, 2017)
 It is richest source of vitamins, minerals as well as
antioxidants (lycopene) (Iqbal et al., 2019)
 It is second most consumed vegetable after potato
(Solanum tuberosum) in the whole world and grown
in almost every region (KC et al., 2018)
 Classification Kingdom Plantae
Sub kingdom Tracheophyta
Tomato belongs to the nightshade
Super Division Spermatophyta
family Solanaceae, which includes
more than 3000 species. It lies in Division Magnoliophyta
division Magnoliophyta, class Class Magnoliopsida
Magnoliopsida, subclass Asteridae, Sub class Asteridae
order Solanales, and suborder order Solanales
Solanineae. Sub order Solanineae
Family Solanaceae
Genus Lycopersicum
Species esculentum
 History
• Genus Lycopersicum is one of the smallest genera in Solanaceae, though
centerpiece in the family for genetic and molecular research.
• It is closest to the genus Solanum (nightshade), which originally led people to
believe tomato was poisonous
• The cultivated tomato was originally named Solanum lycopersicum by
Linnaeus.
• In 1754, Miller separated tomatoes and designated the genus Lycopersicon and
the species esculentum for the cultivated tomato . This helped with the
acceptability of tomato as a food (Foolad, 2007)
 Genetic diversity in wild tomatoes, especially the self-incompatible species
such as S. chilense and S. peruvianum are extensive
 Origin
 Originated in South America, in the general area of Peru and Ecuador, but
were first domesticated in Mexico.
 Spanish took domesticated forms to Europe in 1523 and they had reached
Italy by 1544, and England by 1597.
 Spanish also took them to the Philippines and they were recorded in
Malaysia in 1650.
 Later taken to North America from Europe in the late eighteenth century.
Today tomatoes are grown all over the world. (Abewoy Fentik, 2017).
Tomato is the third most important vegetable after cauliflower and cabbage
in terms of area, and production in Nepal.
 General Morphology

 Growth habit: varies from indeterminate to determinate, may

reach up to 3 metres (m) in height.(Garcia et al., 2015)
 Leaves: compound, pinnate, alternate with small leaflets. oblong
to ovate in shape with irregularly toothed margin
 Stem: soft, brittle, and hairy when young; hard, woody and
copiously branched when mature (Cheema & Dhaliwal, 2004)
 Strong tap root, later adventitious roots develop rapidly, if the tap
root is damaged
 Fruit is globular or ovoid, exhibits characteristics of berries; a
simple fleshy fruit that encloses its seed in the pulp.
 Floral Biology
 Although some wild species of the genus Solanum are
allogamous, all commercial tomato cultivars are
mainly self-compatible and inbreeding, i.e.
autogamous (Rick, 1979; Taylor, 1986).
 Tomatoes have perfect flowers. It forms a tight
protective anther surrounding the stigma, which
greatly reduces the possibility for natural cross
fertilization
 A single tomato plant may produce as many as 20 or
more inflorescences over a season.
 Normally at least 4 to 8 flowers are borne on each
inflorescence
 Floral Biology

 Flowers are are borne on inflorescences that may be either

determinate (cymose) or indeterminate (racemose)
 Yellow in color, less than 2.5 cm in diameter when in full
bloom.
 Possess four helically arranged whorls of organs; green
sepals form the outer whorl or calyx, at least five yellow
petals, stamens alternate with petal position and are fused
and a whorl of two or more fused carpels form the pistil at
the centre
 The number of carpels found in the pistil varies between
species and relates to the number of locules present in the
resulting fruit.
 Anthesis

 The anthesis of flowers starts around 6 a.m. and it continues to open

until 11 a.m.
 The peak period of anther dehiscence is between 8 to 11 a.m.
depending upon the initiation of sunshine, atmospheric temperature,
and humidity. (Cheema & Dhaliwal, 2004)
 At temperatures ranging between 18° to 25°C, the pollen remain
viable from 2 to 5 days, the stigma becomes receptive 16 to 18 hours
before anthesis and retains the receptivity up to 6 days after anthesis.
 Crossing techniques: Emasculation and Pollination

 Emasculation refers to the removal of anthers from flowers

 It is done when corolla leaves have just opened and form an angle uto 45 degree.
At this stage, no selfing has yet occurred.
 Flower buds which would open within 2-3 days are selected for the process
 Pollen is collected before it is shed. Anthers are removed
from the flowers and placed in suitable containers (e.g.,
glassine, cellophane, or paper bags) dry anthers for 24
hours at 30 degree celcius
 Emasculated flowers are pollinated next morning.
 Pollination is not done on the day of emasculation, as the
stigma is not yet receptive by then and the resultant fruits
from such pollination will produce few seeds.
 . Delayed pollination should also be avoided as the stigma
surface dries up particularly in dry and hot windy weather
 Due to easiness of emasculation and pollination of tomato flowers,
hybrid technology is widely adopted and single pollination can
produce many seeds in tomato.
 Developing F1 hybrids is the best way to combine disease resistance
and fruit quality and marketable fruit yield from breeding lines,
although hybrid vigor is not reported in tomato.(KC et al., 2018)
 Germplasm Resources
 It refers to the diverse collection of genetic materials, including seeds, plants,
and tissues, that represent the genetic diversity within the species of tomato.
 These are crucial for plant breeding, research, and conservation efforts aimed
at developing new varieties with desirable traits
 Includes wild relatives, landraces, modern cultivars, and breeding lines from
various geographic regions worldwide
 Solanum pimpinellifolium has been frequently used as an important germplasm
donor in modern tomato breeding.
 Genetic resources are typically preserved in seed banks, genebanks, and
research institutions, where they are maintained, characterized, and made
available for use by plant breeders, researchers, and farmers

Objectives of Germplasm conservation

 Genetic diversity conservation
 Breeding for improved varieties
 Research and genetic studies
 Safeguard traditional varieties
Genetics/ Cytology of Tomato

 Lycopersicum esculentum is used as model plant for research purposes related to

genetics because
 it can be grown under many environmental conditions,
 short life cycle,
 insensitive to photoperiod,
 homozygosity,
 self-pollinating,
 diploid the reproductive potential rate is high,
 pollination can be controlled,
 hybridization and small genome.
(Iqbal et al., 2019)
 Tomato genetics is quite advanced.
 Qualitative genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the domestication syndrome
traits (growth habit and fruits traits) have been identified.
 Dramatic change in tomato through domestication is fruit size. Wild tomato has tiny
berries while modern cultivars are large and succulent.
 Self-incompatibility is a common feature of the wild relatives of the tomato, and is
transimitted to hybrids with L. esculentum.

 Genetics of qualitative traits

 The inheritance of qualitative traits in tomatoes is often controlled by one or a few
genes with major effects.
 These genes may exhibit Mendelian inheritance patterns, such as dominance,
recessiveness, or co-dominance.
Genetics of Qualitative and Quantitative traits

Qualitative traits of tomato

1. Leaf color: Light green, green and dark green
2. Leaf pubescence: absent, sparse, medium and dense
3. Leaf/ foliage cover: poor, moderate, good, excellent
4. Stem type: round, angular
5. Stem thickness: thin, medium, thick
6. Stem pigmentation: green, anthocyanin (red)
7. Flower size: small, medium and large
8. Flower color: light yellow/ cream deep yellow, reddish yellow
9. Fruit size: Very small « =20 g), Small (>20-30 g), Medium (>30-80 g),
Medium large (>80-100 g), Large (>100-175 g) and Very large (>175 g)

Source: NBPGR descriptors

(Sushma et al., 2021)
 Quantitative traits:
 Plant height, Primary branches/ plant, inter-node length, leaflet width,
number of leaflets/ leaf, days to first flowering, number of fruits/plant,
fruit length and width, fruit weight, number of fruits/ cluster, thickness of
pericarp, pedicel length, harvesting period, yield/ plant
 The inheritance of quantitative traits involves the interaction of multiple
genes (polygenic inheritance) and environmental influences.
 Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association
studies (GWAS) are commonly used approaches associated with
quantitative traits in tomatoes.
Breeding objectives

1. Fruit yield
 The main purpose of most of the tomato breeding is to increase the yield
and quality of tomato
 Many beneficial traits such as disease and pest resistance, high sugar
content, tolerance to abiotic stresses, are selected to increase fruit yield
2. Fruit quality
 Include characteristics shape, size and color and some chemical factors
like soluble solids, acidity, taste and sensory factors.
 The goal is to increase the shelf life of fruit.
 Scientists are now working on tomato fruit to increase the lycopene and
carotenoids content
 Wild species have been identified which are rich in lycopene.
S.pimpinellifolium is five times higher in lycopene level than the
cultivated tomatoes (Iqbal et al., 2019)
3. Disease and Pest Resistance
 It is common objective to breeding in food crops to produce or develop
resistance against many disease and pests
 Disease resistance genes can be added from wild species to cultivated
species of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) by traditional and modern
methods of breeding
 Molecular markers and Marker Assisted Selection techniques have
provided gene identification and mapping and inserting many disease
resistance genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in tomato
4. Tolerance to heat and drought stress
 Heat and drought are the major abiotic stresses that affect the production of
tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum).
 Heat affects the ripen pollen and so produces nonviable pollens and also
affect the number of pollens.
 This required combination of traditional breeding methods a marker-
assisted selection.
 Mutation breeding is used to combat heat and drought stresses in food crops
Breeding Methods in Tomato

1. Mass Selection
 In this method, phenotypically better plants are selected and they grown in
bulk. And again, phenotypically better plants are grown, and this is repeated
till the desired characters are developed.
 The final population which is obtained from the selected plants would be more
uniform than that of the original population for easily observable characters
which are governed by one or few major genes like presence of awns, plant
height and seed colour (Sharma et al., 2019)
 Desired characters are combined and developed new varieties
2. Pedigree method
 This method make a controlled crosses followed by single plant selection.
Single plant selection is initiated in F2 and is continued through
successive generations till F6.
 It is useful by finding out if 2 individuals are related by descent, whether
they have a common parent in their ancestor and some genes in common.
 This method develops new cultivars faster than mass selection (Iqbal et
al., 2019)
3. Back-cross method
 Backcross is a cross between a hybrid and one of its parents.
 This method is commonly utilized in desirable gene transfers for resistance to
diseases like, early blight resistance, Bacterial wilt resistance and nematode
resistance. (Sharma et al., 2019)
 This method is used for development of isogenic lines, multilines and also Root
Knot Nematode lines are derived from S. peruvianum.
Molecular breeding:
 Some methods that are used to modify crop plants are: Molecular markers,
Quantitative traits locus, Genetic engineering, polymerase chain reaction.
 These methods have been for many purposes such as estimation of genetic
variability, identification of genotype and determination of the sequences
of useful genes.
 With the help of QTLs analysis, selection of superior group of traits
through the crosses between the pure line/modified seed and also helpful
for the polygenetic durable resistance gene analysis
METHODS OF HYBRID SEED PRODUCTION

Hybrid seed of tomato can be produced by the following three methods.

• Hand emasculation and hand pollination,
• Using male sterility and hand pollination, and
• Using male sterility and natural pollination
Seed Production and Certification
Steps of seed production and certification:
1. Selection of Parental Lines: Begins with the careful selection of parental
lines. These lines should possess desired traits such as disease resistance, high
yield, fruit quality, and adaptation to specific growing conditions.
2. Isolation: seed crop of tomato should be provided an isolation distance of 50
meters (for self pollinated) from other tomato varieties or the same variety
according to the seed certification laws.
Isolation is provided to eliminate any chance of outcrossing. It is advisable to
plant seed crop in a field where previous crop was other than tomato. For
cross-pollinated like garden peas, French beans: 1000-1600m
3. Field Inspection: Should be inspected at least thrice during crop
season to identify and remove off-type plants
a. The first inspection: made before flowering and the identification
of true-to-type plant is ascertained on the basis of foliage and plant
type characters
b. Second inspection : done at flowering fruiting stage. Flower, fruit
and other plant characters form the basis of this inspection
c. At the third inspection, the color of mature fruit and its shoulders as
well as fruit shape form the basis for establishing the trueness to type
of the plants
4. Harvesting and Processing: Tomato seeds are typically harvested when the
fruits are fully ripe. After harvesting, the seeds are extracted from the fruits,
cleaned, and dried to reduce moisture content.
5. Seed Testing : Conducted to assess seed quality, purity, and germination rate.
Seed testing involves various laboratory analyses to ensure that the seeds meet
specified quality standards.
6. Seed Certification: Seed certification is a formal process conducted by
regulatory authorities or certification agencies to verify that the seeds meet
established quality standards and are free from pathogens, contaminants, and
genetic impurities
7. Packaging and Distribution: After certification, the seeds are packaged and
labeled for distribution to farmers, seed companies, and other stakeholders.
8. Regulatory and Compliance: Seed production and certification activities are
subject to regulatory requirements and standards set by national and international
seed organizations
References:
Abewoy Fentik, D. (2017). Review on Genetics and Breeding of Tomato (Lycopersicon
esculentum Mill). Advances in Crop Science and Technology, 05(05).
https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-8863.1000306
Babu, D., Magar, T., Gauchan, D., & Timsina, K. (2016). Srijana Hybrid Tomato: A
Potential Technology for Enterprise Development in Nepal Agriculture and Food
Security Project View project Building Resilience to Climate Related Hazards
(BRCH)/Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) View project (Issue July).
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1425.3048
Cheema, D. S., & Dhaliwal, M. S. (2004). Hybrid tomato breeding. Journal of New
Seeds, 6(2–3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1300/J153v06n02_01
Foolad, M. R. (2007). Genome mapping and molecular breeding of tomato. International
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Garcia, D., Narváez-Vásquez, J., & Orozco-Cárdenas, M. L. (2015). Tomato (Solanum
lycopersicum). In Methods in Molecular Biology (Vol. 1223, Issue September 2016).
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Iqbal, R. K., Saeed, K., Khan, A., Noreen, I., & Bashir, R. (2019). Tomato (Lycopersicum
Esculentum) Fruit Improvement through Breeding. Inno Scholar Journal of Applied
Sciences and Research, 2(7), 7–21. www.innovationinfo.org
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