Phenotypic divergence on growth and productivity of wild and semi-domesticated cherry tomato grown under greenhouse conditions

The wild germplasm of S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme has been used for the improvement of cultivated tomato. However, the use of these genetic resources depends on the detection of superior plant and fruit traits or resistance and tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stress conditions. In order to assess phenotypic differences by geographical origin of wild and semi-domesticated tomato, 20 accessions were collected in the states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, Puebla, Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico. The collection was sown and transplanted in a greenhouse under a randomized complete block design with three replications. Significant phenotypic differences were detected (P≤0.05) by germplasm origin in all the vegetative, physiological and productivity traits evaluated, except number of fruits per raceme. The most striking phenotypic difference was total fruit weight per raceme. The Oaxaca accessions were heavier (130.6 g) than those of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Michoacán (from 16.9 to 20 g). In fruit size, the Oaxaca accessions had values from 2.4 to 2.7 in polar and equatorial diameter, while those from other states had values from 1.3 to 1.5 cm. In this work, the smaller fruit size is an indicator of the wild origin of the material.