ABSTRACT The prevention of certain chronic diseases has been related to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) consumption. The demand for high-quality tomatoes has, therefore, increased rapidly. As a climacteric fruit, tomato will only ripen to full colour postharvest. Trusses of mature-green greenhouse tomatoes of a red (‘Cherry Little Wonder’) and a yellow cultivar (‘Goldilocks’) were illuminated, preharvest, with either red (RL) (peak at 634 nm, 120 ± 20 µmol m–2 s–1) or blue (BL) LED lights (peak at 450 nm, 120 ± 20 µmol m–2 s–1) for 8 h per day for seven consecutive days. These on-plant RL and BL treatments significantly affected fruit colour and pigment concentration. Both light treatments enhanced the accumulation of lycopene, thereby significantly enhancing the nutritive value of the fruit. Similarly to lycopene, the β-carotene concentrations also increased following RL and BL exposure, again more so in the red than the yellow cultivar. Both light treatments also enhanced the speed of colour change by 5 days for the red and by 10 days for the yellow cultivar, resulting in either the desired red or the yellow colour. Our findings could be employed to improve quality and shorten the ripening period of tomato, while mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis and accumulation of these carotenoids require further investigation.

中文翻译：

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樱桃番茄采前光照可缩短成熟期，提高果实类胡萝卜素浓度和整体果实品质

摘要 某些慢性病的预防与食用番茄（Solanum lycopersicum L.）有关。因此，对优质番茄的需求迅速增加。作为一种更年期水果，番茄只会在收获后成熟到全色。在采收前用红色 ('Cherry Little Wonder') 和黄色品种 ('Goldilocks') 用红色 (RL)（峰值在 634 nm，120 ± 20 µmol m–2 s–1) 或蓝色 (BL) LED 灯（峰值在 450 nm，120 ± 20 µmol m–2 s–1），每天 8 小时，连续 7 天。这些植株 RL 和 BL 处理显着影响果实颜色和色素浓度。两种光照处理都增强了番茄红素的积累，从而显着提高了果实的营养价值。与番茄红素类似，β-胡萝卜素浓度在 RL 和 BL 暴露后也增加，再次比黄色品种在红色中增加更多。两种光处理都将红色的颜色变化速度提高了 5 天，黄色品种的颜色变化速度提高了 10 天，从而产生所需的红色或黄色。我们的研究结果可用于提高番茄的品质和缩短成熟期，而这些类胡萝卜素的生物合成和积累所涉及的机制需要进一步研究。