Punjab Sona Cherry and Punjab Kesar Cherry- Varieties of cherry tomato for naturally ventilated polynet house cultivation

Abstract

Protected cultivation provides good quality, safe produce to the consumers in view of the less quantity of pesticides used as compared to the open field conditions (Cheema et al. 2013). To increase productivity of good quality fruits, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, India has recommended protected cultivation of the tomato in the state from 2005. The technology has been widely adopted by the state growers. Two indeterminate varieties of table tomato suitable for protected cultivation namely ‘Punjab Gaurav’ and ‘Punjab Sartaj’ have been recommended for commercial cultivation in the State by PAU (Jindal and Dhaliwal 2016). There is another segment called cherry tomato which is considered a high value crop. Cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) are known as tasty, numerous small size fruits in clusters along the stem and branches of the plants. Cherry tomatoes are grown for its edible fruits which can be consumed fresh as salads. Cherry tomato is a storehouse of carotenoids (lycopene and carotene), ascorbic acid and phenolics, thus, they are sold at a premium price in many of the large retail stores in the country. Although cherry tomatoes have more nutritional values as compare to normal tomatoes, but work done on quality improvement of cherry tomatoes is scanty.