Postharvest physicochemical changes in mutant (dg, og c , and rin) and non-mutant tomatoes

Early postharvest decay of tomato is a major concern of research. Several pre and postharvest efforts have been suggested to improve the shelf life of commercially grown tomatoes. However, finding the cultivars with increased shelf life is not yet achieved. Our study focused on the characterization of two color mutants [dg (BCT-115) and og ᶜ (BCT-119)], one ripening mutant [rin (BCT-111)], and seven normal tomato genotypes [Berika (high lycopene) Punjab, Chhuhara, FEB-2, BCT-53, Patharkutchi, CLN-B, and CLN-R] using different physicochemical and subjective variables to acknowledge the storage potential at 25 ± 1 °C and RH 80–82 %. There were significant variations in storage life among all tomato genotypes. Except og ᶜ , the mutant (dg and rin) tomatoes showed longer shelf life in relation to normal tomatoes. Based on their storability, the genotypes were classified into three groups i.e. shelf life less than 15 days [CLN-B, BCT-53, CLN-R, and BCT-119 (og ᶜ)], 15–18 days [FEB-2, Punjab Chhuhara, Patharkutchi, and Berika] and more than 18 days [BCT-115 (dg) and BCT-111 (rin)]. We suggest that selecting the genotype/cultivar having longer shelf life during formulation of breeding strategy could improve the marketability of tomato fruits for relatively longer period.