Lycopene, beta-carotene and productivity of tomato varieties at different shade levels under medium land of Indonesia

Lycopene and beta-carotene are two antioxidants in tomatoes. In some studies, lycopene content and productivity of tomato are strongly influenced by the intensity of solar radiation received by plants. The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of shading on production, lycopene content, and beta-carotene content of several tomato varieties at medium land of Indonesia. The study was conducted in the area with an altitude of 555 meters above sea level, in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Treatments tested in this study were arranged in a split plot design. The main plot was percentage of shading (0%, 25% and 50 %). The subplot was tomato varieties (Juliet, Golden Sweet, Golden Shine and Betavila). The results showed that shading or lowering the level of solar radiation received by plants could improve the maximum air humidity but it did not change the minimum humidity. Minimum air temperature dropped 1°C in the shade treatments of 25% and 50% compared with no shade, while the maximum air temperature dropped 4 °C in the shade of 25% and dropped 5 °C at 50% shade. Changes in the microclimate around the plants, especially the temperature and air humidity did not only increase the growth and productivity of plants, but also increased the chlorophyll content of leaves and lycopene of tomatoes. In all varieties tested showed that the highest production was obtained when plants were shaded by 25% compared with no shade or f 50% shade. In addition, lycopene in tomato varieties was also influenced by the microclimate around the plant, in contrast to the content beta-carotene, which was influenced by varieties of tomatoes.