Source:  NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 10/28/13

Consumers value garden-fresh flavor when it comes to tomatoes, but such flavor isn’t always available on grocery store shelves year-round. Recently published research from N.C. State University scientist Dilip Panthee and colleagues aims to change that.

The researchers found that good flavor is related to sugar and acid, and they calculated the ranges of flavor-related components in 173 tomato varieties.

With this information, the researchers say, tomato breeders now have valuable clues to developing varieties that are most promising for enhancing flavors.

Panthee, the lead author of the paper outlining the findings, is assistant professor of plant breeding and genetics in N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Read more from the website of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct13/tomatoes1013.htm