INVESTIGATION OF TEXTURAL CHANGES IN FOUR VARIETIES OF HYBRID TOMATO CULTIVAR FRUITS USING THE WARNER BRATZLER SHEAR FORCE TECHNIQUE

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the changes in textural properties of tomato fruits prior maturation. Four tomato cultivars: Cobra 26, UC82B, Roma and Platinum 701 F1 - were examined to analyze changes in fruit flesh firmness across different maturity stages, including breaker, pink, and red ripe stages. The firmness of the tomato fruit flesh, specifically the locular gel, was investigated using the Warner - Bratzler shear force (WBS) method. Result indicated changes in the fruit flesh firmness during ripening from breaker to red ripe stage. The Cobra 26 variety fruit flesh was found to have the highest firmness of 21.64, 18.55 and 12.03 Nat the breaker stage, pink and red ripe maturity stage, respectively. The Roma cultivar fruit flesh developed the lowest with firmness of 10.12, 7.73 and 5.69 Nat the breaker, pink and red ripe maturity stage, respectively. The study findings revealed significant inter - cultivar variation in flesh firmness at all maturity stages, with the Cobra 26 tomato variety demonstrating superior performance. These findings offer valuable insights for the design and development of food processing systems tailored for tomato fruits.