Fruit development in tomato: the role of temperature

Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants grown under low (LTR), intermediate (ITR), and high (HTR) temperature regimes produced fruits which were significantly different in certain characteristics. Under LTR, fruits were larger, both in fresh weight and size, and contained a greater number of locules than the fruits produced under ITR, which were larger than those developed under HTR. Fruits from plants maintained in temperature-controlled growth chambers before and after pollination were generally larger than those transferred to a greenhouse after pollination. Some abnormalities were observed in fruits grown under LTR but not in those produced under ITR and HTR.