Breeding tomato flavor: Modeling consumer preferences of tomato landraces

Tomato landraces are highly appreciated by consumers, who are willing to pay a price premium for them. But little is known regarding sensory perception and its relationship with fruit composition. The Spanish variety Moruno was selected as a model for this purpose. A collection of 30 populations was grown in different environments and evaluated by a consumer panel. Partial least square (PLS) models were then developed relating determinant flavor descriptors (sweetness, sourness, taste and aroma intensity, aftertaste persistence and agreeability, and overall flavor acceptability) with compositional variables such as soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, individual sugars, organic acids, volatiles, and derived variables. PLS models identified relationships that had not been uncovered with correlation and simple regression analysis and offered low cross-validation errors (<15% of the range of variation). Although plant yield negatively affected sensory perception, it was possible to identify populations with a good combination of both traits.Chemical compounds studied in this article: Fructose (PubChem CID: 5984); Glucose (PubChem CID: 5793); Citric acid (PubChem CID: 311); Malic acid (PubChem CID: 525); Glutamic acid (PubChem CID: 611); 6Methyl-5-hepten-2-one (PubChem CID:9862).

Automated summary

This study used the Spanish variety Moruno as a model to investigate the relationship between sensory perception and fruit composition in tomato landraces. By growing 30 different populations in various environments and evaluating them through a consumer panel, partial least square models were developed to identify the relationships between determinant flavor descriptors and compositional variables. The study provided new insights that were not uncovered by previous analyses and identified populations with a good combination of yield and sensory traits.