Selection indices for enhancing fruit quality characters in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Association of 12 fruit characters viz., fruit weight, polar diameter of fruit, equatorial diameter of fruit, locule number per fruit, pericarp thickness, TSS, lycopene, â carotene, total sugar, reducing sugar, titrable acidity and ascorbic acid contents of the fruit have been studied utilizing average data over two years on 12 widely divergent genotypes of tomato to determine important selection indices for enhancing fruit qualitycharactersin tomato. Correlation and path coefficient analyses confirmed that medium sized fruits, fewer locules, thick pericarp, high total soluble solids and medium titrable acidity level in the fruits should be considered as the most important selection indices for enhancing lycopene, â carotene and ascorbic acid contents in the fruit.