The esculent Lycopersicon esculentum, long thought to be poisonous, has
become a major U. S. food crop and source of vitamins and minerals,
thanks largely to genetic modification and new production technology
Rick (1978) Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. ) is one of the most
important solana- ceous vegetable crops grown worldwide under outdoor
and indoor conditions. It has become an important commercial crop so far
as the area, production, industrial values and its contribution to human
nutrition is concerned. During the past few decades tremendous
developments have contributed to the knowledge and understanding of
various areas of genetics, breeding and biotechnology and voluminous
literature has been generated. The purpose of preparing this monograph
is to give a comprehensive up-to-date treatment to the various aspects
of genetic improvement of tomato. The emphasis has been placed on
cytology, classical and molecular genetics, reproductive biology,
germplasm resources, hybrid seed production, use of wild taxa,
selection/ breeding methods, breeding for abiotic and biotic stresses,
processing and quality breeding, improvement for mechanical harvesting,
and biotechnology: tissue culture, protoplast fusion, and genetic
transformation. These topics are presented in 22 different chapters.
However, a few aspects have been discussed in more than one chapter. For
example, seed production is treated in chapters 1, 4 and 8; molecular
biology/genetic engineering in chapters 3 and 22 and heterosis in
chapters 8 and 16.