Relation of mineral nutrition and content of lycopene and beta-carotene in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruits

Abstract

Lycopene production in tomato fruits depends upon K ion concentration in cytoplasm and vacuoles, but also upon other limiting factors, such as temperature, watering regime and subjecting to direct sun light influence, in cohesion with other factors. In order to research whether lycopene and beta-carotene production depend upon mineral macro-nutrient, we used industrial tomato cv. Narvik SPF as a material. The content of lycopene regarding the fertilizer formulation was from 33.69 mg/kg in control to 56.92 mg/kg in plants treated with increased content of potassium. Fertilizers with increased content of phosphorus increased the content of lycopene, comparing to control, but not significantly. On the other hand, this treatment provoked greater content of beta-carotene, which could be the cause of shortened fruit maturing process (fruits have been picked at the same day). Plants with the lowest content of beta-carotene have been treated with increased potassium (2.933 mg/g), which could be the cause of this shortened maturing process influenced by potassium ions, i.e. the most of beta-carotenes transform into lycopene.