Field evaluation of high lycopene tomato breeding lines in Oman

Eight tomato accessions acquired from the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC), Taiwan, were grown for field screening. Data were collected on their horticultural characteristics, and total yield. Fully ripened tomatoes were harvested and analyzed for total soluble solids (TSS) and lycopene content. Significant (P < 0.05) differences were observed in the yield, horticultural characteristics, TSS and lycopene content of different tomato accessions. The fresh market high lycopene cultivar CLN2366A showed the highest fruit yield (83.64 tones per hectare). The yield for other germplasm ranged between 25 to 63 tones/ha. The accessions CLN2366B and CLN2366A produced the highest fruit numbers i.e., 186.6 and 181.8, respectively. The CLN2366C produced the highest fruit size (127.3 g). The germplasm accessions varied significantly (P <0.05) in their TSS and lycopene contents and the highest lycopene value (72.19 mg per kg) was observed for the fresh market heat tolerant and high yielding accession, CLN2366A.