Physiological Traits of Thirty-Five Tomato Accessions in Response to Low Temperature

Tomato is often exposed to diverse abiotic stresses and cold stress is one of harsh environmental stresses. Abnormal low temperature affects tomato growth and development, leading to, e.g., physiological disorders, flower drops, and abnormal fruit morphology, and causing a decrease in tomato yield and fruit quality. It is important to identify low temperature-(LT) tolerant tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars relying on different fruit types. In this study, our focus was to analyze the physiological traits of 35 tomato accessions with three different fruit types (cherry, medium, and large sizes) under night temperature set-points of 15 degrees C for control temperature (CT) and 10 degrees C for LT, respectively. Plant heights (PH) of most tomato accessions in LT were remarkably decreased compared to those in CT. The leaf length (LL) and leaf width (LW) were reduced depending on the genotypes under LT. In addition, the number of fruits (NFR), fruit set (FS), fruit yield (FY), and marketable yield (MY) were negatively affected in LT. The variation was further investigated by the correlation, the principal component (PCA), and the cluster analysis. Interestingly, positive correlations between different vegetative and reproductive traits were uncovered. Multivariate analysis including the PCA and hierarchical clustering classified the LT-treated 35 tomato accessions into four major groups. The identified accessions were associated with vegetative and reproductive parameters on positive directions. The results might be utilized for establishing breeding programs on selecting LT-tolerant tomato cultivars with different selection indices relying on fruit types during vegetative and/or reproductive stages.

Automated summary

Tomatoes are often exposed to various environmental stresses, including cold stress, which can have negative effects on growth and development, leading to decreased yield and fruit quality. This study analyzed the physiological traits of 35 tomato accessions with different fruit types under control and low temperatures, showing significant reductions in plant height, leaf size, and fruit-related parameters under low temperature conditions. Multivariate analysis revealed positive correlations between different traits and classified the tomato accessions into four major groups based on their responses to low temperature stress. These results can be useful for breeding programs targeting cold-tolerant tomato cultivars.