Cherry tomato - The Plant with a secret Gem

Cherry tomato (Solanum esculentum var. Cerasiforme) one of the important botanical variety of the cultivated tomato is a member of nightshade family ‘Solanaceae’ consisting of 96 genera and over 3000 species. It is considered as a ‘Protective Food’ because of its special nutraceutical value and high level of antioxidants like ?-carotene vitamin C carotenoids polyphenols phenolics ascorbate free amino acids and flavonoids. Being nutritionally rich (antioxidants and phytochemical compounds) as compared to the normal tomatoes nevertheless less work has been done in respect of quality improvement in cherry tomatoes. Being a self-pollinated crop it has enormous potential for heterosis breeding due to high seed number per fruit. As a result the scenario of cherry tomato production changed tremendously with the increasing popularity of F1 hybrids on account of several privileges as compared to purelines. To ensure the extensive utilization of heterosis to step up the cherry tomato production both in terms of yield and quality and to identify the best lines of cherry tomato this book is very useful.