The objective of this study was to analyze changes to the chemical composition of the ‘cherry’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. var. cerasiforme) fruit during storage under a controlled atmosphere.
The experiment was conducted in 2013. The plants of one ‘cherry’ tomato cultivar – ‘Pareso F1’ were grown in mineral wool slabs. Fruits were harvested in September at the pink stage of maturity (3rd, USDA standard chart).
One part was stored under controlled atmosphere (CA: 3% CO2 and 3% O2), second under ultra-low oxygen (ULO: 3% CO2 and 1.5% O2) and third was under normal atmosphere (NA).
Fruits from every combination were stored for two, three and four weeks at 12 °C. The storage conditions and length of storage time affected the results (e.g. dry matter, total sugars content, pH of juice). Chemical analyses were carried out before and after storage. Following properties were measured: dry matter, total sugars content, pH of juice, titratable acidity and soluble solids content.
