Basis for Successful Cultivation of Tomato
Climate and Soil
Temperature and Light
Tomato requires a relatively cool, dry climate for high yield and premium quality. However, it is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions from temperate to hot and humid tropical. The optimum temperature for most varieties lies between 21 and 24°C. The plants can survive a range of temperatures, but the plant tissues are damaged below 10°C and above 38°C.
Tomato plants react to temperature variation during the growth cycle (Table 1), for seed germination, seedling growth, flower and fruit set and fruit quality. If cool or hot weather spells persist during flowering, pollen production will be low. This will influence fruit formation. Frost will kill the plants. To avoid frost damage, it is best to wait until the winter is definitely over before sowing. It is possible to sow indoors earlier. Light intensity affects the colour of the leaves, fruit set and fruit colour.
Tomato is developed rapidly at high temperature. If fruits exposed to direct sunlight, their tops may turn whitish yellow & become leathery in texture. This is common in late varieties during summer season. This condition is known as sun-scald. A warm, sunny weather is most suited for proper ripening, colour, quality & high yield.
Climate Zones for Tomato Varieties
Zone A
Coastal areas from Santa Barbara south; coastal foothills and mountain ranges from San Diego through Marin Counties; foothills surrounding the Central Valley, Napa, and Sonoma Valleys; the cities of San Jose, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Diego; and other areas where summer daytime temperatures are warm but usually below 95°F (35°C).
Zone B
Inland valleys and high and low deserts; the Central, Sacramento, San Fernando, and San Gabriel Valleys; interior valleys of San Diego County; the cities of Redding, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Pomona, Riverside, El Cajon; and other inland areas where daytime temperatures regularly exceed 95°F (35°C) during the summer growing season.
Zone C
Intermediate central and northern coastal areas; cool coastal valleys from Santa Maria north to the Oregon border; the San Francisco Peninsula and areas with direct exposure to San Francisco Bay; northern coastal foothills; most mountains and mountain valley regions; the cities of Santa Maria, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Oakland, and Eureka; and other areas with cool to moderate summers with evening temperatures frequently in the 45° to 55°F range.
Soil
Soil preparation is the key to best practice tomato culture. While the tomato bush is a gross feeder, it is also a constant feeder. It respond best to slow availability of just enough nutrient - a major feature of a well developed organic soil. Tomato grows well on most mineral soils that have proper water holding capacity and aeration, and are free of salt.
Sandy loam soil with a well drained clay sub soil is best suited. The upper layer needs to be permeable. Soil depth of 15 to 20 cm is needed to grow a healthy crop. In heavy clay soils, deep ploughing allows better root penetration. Tomato is moderately tolerant to a wide range of pH (level of acidity), but grows well in soils with a pH of 5.5 - 6.8 with adequate nutrient supply and availability. Addition of organic matter is, in general, favourable for good growth. Soils with very high organic matter content, like peat soils, are less suitable due to their high water holding capacity and nutrient deficiencies.
Water and Humidity
A simple rule of thumb can be used to determine whether local water supplies are sufficient for growing tomato. If there are herbaceous plants growing in the natural environment, it will be possible to grow tomato. You should be able to count on at least three months of rain. Water stress and long dry periods will cause buds and flowers to drop off, and the fruits to split. However, if rains are too heavy and humidity is too high, the growth of mould will increase and the fruit will rot. Cloudy skies will slow down the ripening of tomatoes. However, adapted cultivars are available. Seed companies have special tomato varieties for hot-humid climates.
Choice of Varieties
Which variety to choose depends on local conditions and the purpose of growing. Local varieties (land-races) and improved varieties can be distinguished. They are the result of a continuous process of selection of plants. Selection criteria are based on characteristics such as type of fruit, shape of plant, vitality and resistance to pests and diseases, but also on factors related to climate and management. Farmers select varieties that perform best under the local conditions. Only fruits from the best plants must be selected and kept for seeds for the subsequent season. Farmers may breed their own cultivars, but it is a costly and risky process.
Tomato breeding companies have produced Fl-hybrids. These grow from seeds that have been produced by controlled hand pollination of male and female parent lines. These hybrids combine high yield, disease resistance and other plant and fruit characteristics. In Asia, more than 40% of the farmers use hybrids. When using hybrids, new seeds should be purchased each season. This may cost more money, but the resistance against diseases of hybrids means the tomato plants need less spraying with pesticides. The yields are also higher, creating more opportunity to bring tomatoes to the market.
Resistant varieties have an in-built resistance, which is carried in the seed. Resistance to a specific disease means that it is very difficult or impossible for a plant with this resistant characteristic to get that particular disease. Resistance can be a result of various plant characteristics. Leaves can be densely covered with hairs so that certain insects do not like sitting on them. Some colours can be unattractive to certain insects. Such characteristics are visible. Most characteristics that contribute to resistance to fungal and virus resistance cannot be seen. There are no varieties on the market that are resistant to all existing diseases and pests, but you can buy seed from plants that are resistant to one or several diseases.
Many farmers in lowland tropical Africa and the Caribbean grow local varieties of uncertain origin. They have somewhat sour and bitter tasting fruits, small, round or flat, with many segments, and are especially suitable for grinding with condiments for sauces. They give a better yield than most imported cultivars under the heavy environmental stress of the rainy season.
crops in Oklahoma. Tomatoes can grow in a small area, bear through most of the season, are easy to grow, and have many culinary uses in the home. They are low in calories and a good source of Vitamin C. Tomato is a commonly grown high value vegetable crop that can add diversity to small scale and part time farming operations. Growing tomatoes in high tunnels makes it possible to produce the crop approximately 1 month earlier and 6 weeks later than field grown tomatoes. High tunnels increase marketing opportunities, improve early cash flow, and yields are often higher than outdoor grown tomatoes.
Site Selection
Deep sandy to loamy soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 is ideal for tomato production. Most Utah soils are good for tomato production as long as the soil is well drained, fertile, and there is no salt build up. Tomato plants are sensitive to herbicides in soil, so pay special attention to tunnel site selection if residual herbicides have been used in the past. The high tunnel should be located near a year-round water source in order to facilitate irrigation in the early spring and late fall when seasonal irrigation water is not available.
Land Preparation
Ploughing (or digging) is necessary to prepare the land for a new crop. It improves the structure and water holding capacity. In areas where water is a limiting factor, ploughing enhances water conservation as well. Fallow ploughing the land after harvesting the previous crop improves the soil structure and water- holding capacity. Deep ploughing is necessary to break an impermeable hard sub soil layer (ploughing pan), remove the weeds and bring the land to fine tilth. It also helps to reduce soil-borne pests and diseases by exposing the soil to the hot sun. It also encourages root growth. It is often necessary to harrow two times, breaking the clods and removing crop residues to level the land.
• Proper land preparation is necessary to loosen soil and break hard pans or compacted fields. During land preparation, 8 tons of farm yard manure per acre can be incorporated into the soil to improve its structure, this will in turn improve soil aeration and water percolation.
• In nematode infested areas, fumigation can be done with registered products.
• In soils whose pH is low; lime can be applied to raise the pH. For alkaline soils, gypsum can be used to reduce soil pH; it is also handy in sodium-level reduction.
• Planting on beds is recommended for low-lying, areas with high run-off; Raise the soil 15cm high with walkways of 30cm between the beds. Lay drip lines with the nozzles facing up.
Tomato Pruning
Pruning is a horticultural and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. While weeding, watering and fertilizing are all necessary garden tasks, there are some additional care requirements during this part of the growing season. Pruning is one of them. Pruning means pinching off the shoots or “suckers” that sprout from the stem in the crotch right above a leaf branch. If you let a sucker grow, it simply becomes another big stem with its own blossoms, fruits and suckers! With staked or trellised tomatoes, pinch off the suckers and just keep the energy of the plant directed at one (sometimes two to three) main stems. Simply, it means thinning out the tomato plant by pinching off a leaf stem that grows between the main stem and a branch. Each and everyone of these developing suckers adds stress to the plants main stem as more nutrients are required to support all this new growth. The more stems a plant produces, the more but smaller fruit and the longer for the fruit to mature.
By removing suckers from our tomato plants, we stop the growth in that direction and encourage it elsewhere. This gives the gardener greater control over the way the plant grows. In this case, the tomato plant’s energy is directed into fruit production instead of bushy, grean growth. Tomato plants will still produce fruit without pruning, but it is likely that fruit production may be inferior in quantity and quality in comparison to pruned plants.
Tomatoes are warm-season plants that grow best at temperatures of 70 to 80°F during the day and 60 to 70°F during the night. Tomatoes generally will not set flowers when the daytime temp reaches 95 degrees or above. Tomato blossoms are very sensitive to temperature. At temperatures of 55 to 50°F, pollination can be severely impaired and very few fruits will form. Temperatures of 90 to 95°F are also very unfavorable for pollination.
If unsupported, the increasing weight of filling fruit and multiple side branches forces the plant to lie on the ground. Once the main stem is horizontal, there is an increased tendency to branch. Left to its own devices, a vigorous indeterminate tomato plant can easily cover a 4- by 4-foot area with as many as 10 stems, each 3 to 5 feet long. By season’s end, it will be an unsightly, impenetrable, disease-wracked tangle.
It is best to keep tomatoes free of side stems below the first fruit cluster. When trained to one vine and left free- standing, tomato plants develop strong stem, trim all suckers and don’t tie plants to their supports until the first flowers appear.
There are basically two main types of tomato plants - determinate and indeterminate.
1. Indeterminate vines continue to grow and produce fruit until killed by frost. They need to be staked or trellised for best production.
Drive a 5' stake into the ground alongside each planting spot. Plant seedlings deeply so that they send out side roots from the stem. This will help to anchor the plant as well as to feed it. Tie the plant to the stake with soft yarn or strips of cotton cloth by placing the cloth underneath a leaf node (where the leaf joins the main stem) and securing it loosely to the stake. This also helps prevent injury to the tomato plant during rapid growing, where heavy fruit can break the stems.
If your tomatoes are the kind that require staking, be sure to pinch out the side shoots so that the plant produces only 2 main stems which are tied to the stake.
2. Determinate Bush Tomatoes are varieties of tomatoes that normally set fruit in a concentrated time period. These types do not need staking, but some kind of support is useful to keep plants from sprawling on wet ground. The “suckers” are not normally removed, though some trimming helps air circulation. If you remove some of the flowers, you will get larger-sized fruit.
Here are some key tomato pruning terms:
Leaders—Leaders grow in a y-shaped pattern. From leaders grow leaves, sepals, flowers and fruit.
Sepals— Sepals grow from the top growth of leaders and fruiting branches that shoot off the main stalk; they produce flowers and then fruit.
Suckers—Suckers grow at a 45-degree angle from where lateral growth meets the stalk.
Lateral growth—Lateral growth usually grows at a 90-degree angle from the stalk, and only produces leaves, no flowers or fruit. This growth is the photosynthesizing powerhouse of the plant.
Pruning Unstaked Plants
Unstaked plants can also be pruned, although it’s not as necessary as it is for staked or trellised plants. Pruning improves ventilation, which can help to prevent disease problems. Pruning branches late in the season opens the plant up to more sunlight. Then on cooler days the plants are a little warmer, which is good for ripening tomatoes.
If you’re growing determinate varieties of tomatoes, go easy on any pruning. Because these plants are smaller and don’t continue to set new fruits throughout the season, heavy pruning may reduce your yield drastically. Also, be careful not to overprune in hot parts of the country. Tomato fruits need protection from the bright sun or they may develop sunscald. Tomatoes ripen better if they’re shaded some by foliage.
Pruning Tops of Plants
You can pinch off the tip of the main stem above the top blossom of indeterminate tomato varieties to keep a flourishing plant from getting any higher. This type of pruning can be helpful when a plant is outgrowing its support, or toward the end of the growing season when a taller plant won’t help much in terms of increased production. At that point, you’d prefer to see the plant put its energy into ripening the tomatoes already on the vine.
Pruning Roots
Root pruning is a special trick you can use to speed up the ripening of early tomatoes. It simply involves cutting some of the roots of a plant when it has three or four clusters of tomatoes on it. By cutting
Dehydration/Drying of Tomatoes
Dehydration is the process of slowly removing water from tomatoes in order to preserve them. Drying is the oldest preservation method, traditionally requiring only the sun’s energy over several days. It is a very simple process. All you are doing is removing the water from the fruit, leaving all the vitamins, minerals and flavour.
Tomatoes, as other vegetables, can be dried using various methods. In any tomato drying technique the required time for drying the product depends on many parameters such as tomato variety, the soluble solids content of the fresh product, the air humidity, the size of the tomato segments, the air temperature and velocity and the efficiency of the drying system. The rate of drying affects the end quality of the dried product.
Properly dried tomatoes have a dark red color and feel dry and leathery, but not hard and brittle. They should not be “tacky” or moist. When touched in the center, no tomato pulp should stick to the finger.
Traditional sun-drying has the advantages of simplicity and the small capital investments, but it requires long drying times that may have adverse consequences to the product quality: the final product may be contaminated from dust and insects or suffer from enzyme and microbial activity. On the other hand, industrial drying under high temperatures (~90°C) suffers from quality losses regarding color and aroma and may lead to case hardening, impeding the drying of the interior part of the product. It is obvious that the ideal conditions for drying tomatoes are mild temperatures between 45 and 55°C, which enable the dried product to retain its nutrients (including vitamins and lycopene, the nutrient responsible for the deep-red color of tomatoes) and flavors. In general, dried tomatoes undergo the following process steps: predrying treatments, drying or dehydration, and postdehydration treatments, such as inspection, screening and packaging.
Preparation
Select firm ripe tomatoes for drying. Tomatoes do not require blanching. Cut plum tomatoes almost in half length wise and open like a book. Using a spoon or your finger, scrape out the seeds, or gently squeeze the tomato to extract them, but be careful not to remove the pulp. If the seeds don’t bother you, omit this step. Salt may be lightly sprinkled on the cut surface to draw moisture, but is optional. If drying plump or thick plum tomatoes, a slit on the bottom or skin side will aid in the drying process. Slice “round” or “salad” tomato varieties in ¼-inch thick slices.
Drying Methods
1. Sun Drying
Some areas of California offer the appropriate climate for sun drying. If you live in an area with a low relative humidity (less than 60%) and daily temperatures that reach at least 90°F (32°C), you may be able to use the sun to dry tomatoes. If you live in an area with a climate that is cooler or moister, follow the directions for drying tomatoes in a dehydrator.
To sun dry, place the prepared tomatoes about ½ to 1 inch (1 to 3cm) apart cut-side-up, on clean wooden, plastic, chromed, or non-stick-coated drying trays. Do not use galvanized screening, as it could react with the acid in tomatoes. Cover the arranged fruit with fine netting or cheesecloth to keep insects off.
During sun drying, air must circulate around and under each tray, so the trays should not be stacked. The cheesecloth or netting should be raised above the trays so that it does not touch the tomatoes.
Turn the tomatoes from cut-side-up to cut-side-down once a day for even drying. If the temperature at night drops more than 20°F (11°C) below daytime temperatures, bring the trays indoors or place them in a dry, sheltered area at night. This step is important: it prevents the dried tomatoes from reabsorbing moisture. It will probably take at least 5 to 6 days, and perhaps as long as a week, to complete the sun drying process. The time will vary according to the air temperature and the size and type of tomatoes being dried.
Despite precautions, tomatoes dried outdoors can become contaminated by insects. To keep insects from contaminating dried tomatoes, you must destroy any insects and their eggs before storage. To destroy insects and their eggs, place the packaged dried 2. Oven Drying
Unlike sun drying, which depends on the weather, oven drying can be done at any time of the day or night, rain or shine. For trays you can use the existing racks in the oven, or cake racks. Cover the racks with cheesecloth held firmly in place with clothespins or straight pins.
Place the tomatoes about 1/2 to 1" apart in an oven heated to no hotter than 140°F. The oven door should be propped open at least 4 inches. Place a small fan outside the oven in such a position that air is directed through the opening and across the oven racks. Rotate the racks, and change the position of the fan frequently during drying to vary the air circulation and promote even drying.
Near the end of the drying time, the tomatoes may scorch easily, so examine them occasionally and remove dried tomatoes. Oven drying is practical if you are drying small quantities or experimenting with drying.
3. Dehydrator Drying
Unlike sun drying, which depends on the weather, dehydrator drying can be done at any time. There is an initial expense involved when buying a dehydrator, but many people think that a dehydrator produces the best quality dried food. An electric dehydrator can maintain a low, even temperature, and circulate the heated air by means of a blower or fan. Most dehydrators are equipped with a thermostat to maintain a constant temperature, and some have timers. Larger units with many shelves have room for more food than most ovens.
Set the dehydrator temperature at 135° to 140°F. If your dehydrator does not have a thermostat, place an accurate, easily read thermometer on the bottom tray. Place the prepared tomatoes on trays as described in the above, leaving 1 to 2 inches between trays. It may be necessary to turn the tomatoes, and rotate the racks during drying.
Near the end of the drying time, the tomatoes may scorch easily, so examine them occasionally and remove dried tomatoes.
Packaging and Storage
Dehydrated tomatoes require very little space to store. Completely dried tomatoes can be stored in plastic bags, airtight jars or other suitable containers. If coffee cans are used, place the tomatoes in plastic bags first. Pack the tomatoes tightly, and squeeze out all excess air. They may be stored at room temperature in a cool, dark place. The color, flavor, aroma, and nutritive value will deteriorate after about a year. For longer storage, well-wrapped tomatoes may be stored in the freezer.
Tomato Paste
Introduction
Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable in the home garden. Tomatoes are widely grown in all parts of the world. They are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors—including red, yellow, orange, and pink. Sizes vary from the bite-sized cherry tomatoes to the giant beefsteak varieties. Tomatoes may be round, oblate (fruit are flattened at the top and bottom), or pear-shaped. Tomatoes are low in calories and a good source of vitamin C and antioxidants. With their rich flavor and mild acidity, tomatoes have worked their way into thousands of recipes.
Tomato, like other vegetables/fruits is a perishable commodity and has a shorter shelf life in normal temperature. Therefore, problems are faced in the supply chain due ton on-existence of a cold chain system in the country which results in losses of product and drastic price variations. Tomato Paste provides a way out with extremely positive outcome both commercially and financially. Indeed, tomato consumption by the food processing industry revolves around the availability of user friendly intermediate products like tomato paste, puree, ketchup and sauces.
Tomato paste is a thick paste that is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce moisture, straining them to remove the seeds and skin and cooking them again to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate. Tomato paste is a concentrated tomato juice or pulp without seeds and skin, containing not less than 25% tomato solid. It is used as an ingredient in various types of sauces, canned fish, processed beanes, and related products.
Products, such as tomato paste have potential demand with local fruit/vegetable processors as well as the retail market. Establishment of tomato processing facilities in the country can contribute in reducing the dependence of local industry on imported tomato paste. Tomato paste and puree are commonly consumed commodities in every household. It is liked by one and all because of its sweet sour taste.
One of the major resources that we have in India is the skill that our farmers have in optimizing their returns to agriculture. These have already been amply demonstrated by the fact that the value of the output of milk in the country exceeds the value of wheat and rice put together. Also most of the milk is produced through the conversion of agriculture by-products with very limited land, which is actually being used for the production of fodder. The deployment of these skills will further call for labour intensive agriculture. Fruit and vegetable production is labour intensive, as every plant and its products need to be looked after and greater human intervention is needed at the time of harvest, to ensure right size, maturity, colour, ripeness and soon.
The yields of the fruits and vegetables are, in most cases, 4-5 times the yields of cereals and the water requirements of the crops are usually no more than cereals. This will not only yield more crop per drop, but also has the potential of producing more paisa per drop. This is important, as water is increasingly becoming a major limitation to Indian farming. Also, these crops need 5-10 times more labour per acre. That may turn out to be the critical actor that can make India a major player in the sector. With the sun being on our side, India can become a major exporter of fruits and vegetables.
Raw Material Requirements
The raw materials required for a tomato processing unit are:
• Fresh Tomatoes.
• Preservative including Glacier Citric Acid, Potassium Met bisulphate or Sodium Benzoate.
Manufacturing Process of Tomato Paste
Take of well matured or riped tomatoes in a washing vessel wash it to clean the tomatoes. Now clean tomatoes put in the jacketed kettle attached with agitator. Heat it with agitation of 200 R.P.M at 100°C, tomatoes are burst out and tomato juice and peels are mixed well to form slurry, which contents seeds and very little amount of tomato fiber. Take tomato juice and tomato pulp in the jacketed stainless steel vessel boxed the mixed juice and pulp by agitation 100 RPM - 200 RPM and Heated to 100°C for 30 minutes. Then mixed juice concentrate is pumped in the triple effect evaporator to concentrate the juice mix.
The concentration comes to 33% total solids content when total solids comes at 33% concentration then it is pass through PHE at 121°C for 10 seconds and store it in the holding tank. Form the holding tank it is filled in the bottles/cans aseptically and capped the bottles. Then labeled on the bottles. Bottles are checked and then packed it the corrugated boxes. Store in the store room and market the products. Yield of tomato concentrate will be 75% on the base of tomatoes weight.
Tomato Juice
Introduction
Tomato juice contributes significantly to man’s nutrition in the diet as a breakfast juice or an appetizer served at any meal of the day. It contains from 15 to 25 mg/100 g of vitamin C and has four times the vitamin A content of orange juice. Like orange juice it contains considerable basic ash, and on digestion leaves an alkaline residue. It is a good source of iron, manganese, and copper.
The attributes of quality in tomato juice, that is, flavor, color, consistency, and nutritive value, are greatly influenced by variety, climate, cultural practice in the field, harvest procedure, degree of ripeness at the time of harvest, length of storage before processing, washing and sorting, and each step of the processing procedure.
Tomato juice is defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as “the unconcentrated liquid extracted from mature tomatoes of red or reddish varieties, with or without scalding followed by straining. In the extraction of such liquid, heat may be applied by any method which does not add water thereto. Such liquid is strained free from skins, seeds,
and other coarse or hard substances, but carries finely divided insoluble solids from the flesh of the tomato. Such liquid may be homogenized, and may be seasoned with salt. When sealed in a container it is so processed by heat, before or after sealing, as to prevent spoilage”.
For this product, only plant-ripened tomatoes should be used. All green, blemished and over-ripe fruits should be rejected as they adversely affect the quality of the pack. Juice made from over-ripe tomatoes is usually thin and unpleasant in taste and aroma.
The Yield, colour and flavour of the juice depend on the ripeners of tomatoes, the variety used and the place where these are grown. The following points should be kept in view to ensure good quality of the juice:
1. The juice should be of deep red colour. As the red colour in tomatoes is contained in the fibres, as much of the fibrous portion as possible should be incorporated in the juice.
2. The juice should have the characteristic flavour of tomatoes.
3. The acidity of the juice should be about 0.4 percent.
4. The vitamins present in fresh tomatoes should go into the juice. Their retention depends on the method of extraction employed. It has been found that while carotene is fairly resistant to heat and oxidation in the various processes of preparation. Vitamin C is lost appreciably, particularly during the screening of the juice, due to oxidation.
5. For uniformity in quality, either the tomatoes used should be from one stock and place or the juice should be suitably blended.
Manufacturing Process of Tomato Juice
Washing and Trimming
More rinsing of tomatoes in water is not enough, because mould filaments and other micro-organisms, found in their cracks, wrinkles, folds and stem cavities, are not easily dislodged. For thorough cleaning, they should be washed in running water. For work on a large scale, rotary washers are used.
Great care should be taken in trimming. The loss on account of trimming etc. as worked out in India, varies from 4.0 to 17.0 percent. With an average of about 8.0 percent. This heavy wastage is largely due to the absence of standard varieties and defects in picking, transport and marketing of the produce.
Crushing
After trimming, tomatoes are cut into small pieces before boiling. Alternately, they may be crushed by means of wooden roller-crushers.
Hot Pulping
The crushed tomatoes are boiled in their own juice in steam jacketed kettles or aluminium pans for 3-5 minutes to facilitate pulping. The process has the following advantages;
1. The tendency of the juice to separate into liquid and pulp can be overcome if the natural pectin present in the seeds and the skin can be incorporated. During boiling, the pectin is released, and this thickens the pulp. The pectase enzymes, which would otherwise hydrolyse the natural pectin present in tomatoes and make the juice thin, are also destroyed during boiling.
2. Heating sterilizes the juice partly thereby checking to some extent the growth of living organisms which cause fermentation, etc. It also inactivates the oxidative enzymes which destroy Vitamin C.
3. A light cooking release the colour present in the skin.
4. The yield of juice is higher than in cold to satisfy the market demand. The flavour of the cold-pulped juice is much sharper and more acidic. This is due to the pressure applied in this process whereby the juice surrounding the seeds which is richer in acid and poorer in sugar than the other portions of the tomato is extracted first. On account of this, the cold-break juice is also of lighter consistency than that obtained from hot pulping. It has, however, a good fresh flavour.
Extraction of Juice
Extraction of tomato juice may be accomplished by two main types of commercially available extractors: the screw type and the paddle type. Screw type extractors press the tomatoes between a screw and screen. The pressing action of the juice extractor consists of an expanding helix inside a tomato juice screen, in which tomato pulp is forces against the screen at continuing and increasing pressures. Paddle type extractors beat the tomato against the screen. The shaker screens are used, some canners employ a higher temperature hot break and a tighter setting of the extractor.
Deaeration
Since heating tomato juice containing dissolved or occluded air impairs the retention of vitamin C, some canners employ deaerators in which the product is vacuum deaerated. Ideally, deaeration should be applied as soon as possible after crushing the tomatoes because, from this point on, oxidation is rapid, particularly at high temperatures. For practical reasons, however, vacuum deaeration takes place immediately after extraction of the juice. Normally alo” flash is sufficient to remove the dissolved and occluded air. Ifa hot-break procedure is used, the effectiveness of deaeration at this stage loses some of its advantages because oxidation may already have become quite advanced as a result of natural agitation during the process. However, deaeration is still capable of averting serious loss of vitamin C in subsequent sterilization of the juice.
FPO and Agmark
The FPO mark is a certification mark mandatory on all processed fruit products sold in India such as packaged fruit beverages, fruit-jams, crushes and squashes, pickles, dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts, following the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. The FPO mark guarantees that the product was manufactured in a hygienic ‘food-safe’ environment, thus ensuring that the product is fit for consumption.
The standards have been in force since 1955 by the law of Fruit Products Order, after which the mark is named, but the mark itself got a mandatory status only after the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. An FPO license is, in fact, necessary to start a fruit processing industry in India. The agency that develops standards for this purpose and that which issues the mark is the Ministry of Food Processing Industries of the Government of India.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) is a ministry of the Government of India responsible for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to food processing in India. The ministry was set up in the year 1988, with a view to develop a strong and vibrant food processing industry, to create increased employment in rural sector and enable farmers to reap the benefits of modern technology and to create a surplus for exports and stimulating demand for processed food. The ministry is currently headed by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a Cabinet Minister.
Goals of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI)
• Better utilization and value addition of agricultural produce for enhancement of income of farmers.
• Minimizing wastage at all stages in the food processing chain by the development of infrastructure for storage, transportation and processing of agro-food produce.
• Induction of modern technology into the food processing industries from both domestic and external sources.
• Maximum utilization of agricultural residues and by-products of the primary agricultural produce as also of the processed industry.
• To encourage R&D in food processing for product and process development and improved packaging.
• To provide policy support, promotional initiatives and physical facilities to promote value added exports.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is concerned with formulation and implementation of the policies & plans for the food processing industries within the overall national priorities and objectives. A strong and dynamic food processing sector plays a vital role in reduction in the wastage of perishable agricultural produce, enhancing shelf life of food products, ensuring value addition to agricultural produce, diversification & commercialization of agriculture, generation of employment, enhancing income of farmers and creating surplus for the export of agro & processed foods. In the era of economic liberalization, all segments including; private, public and co-operative sectors have defined roles to play and the Ministry promotes their active participation.
Roles of MOFPI
The strategic role and functions of the Ministry fall under three categories -
• Policy support developmental & promotional
• Technical & advisory
• Regulatory.
It is concerned with the formulation & implementation of policies and plans for all the industries under its domain within the overall national priorities and objectives. Its main focus areas include—development of infrastructure, technological up gradation, development of backward linkages, enforcement of quality standards and expanding domestic as well as export markets for processed food products.
The Ministry acts as a catalyst and facilitator for attracting domestic & foreign investments towards developing large integrated processing capacities, by creating conducive policy environment, including rationalization of taxes & duties. It processes applications for foreign collaborations, Export Oriented Units (EOUs) etc. and assists/guides prospective entrepreneur in his endeavour.
Post liberalization, it has approved a large no. of joint ventures, foreign collaborations, industrial licenses and 100% EOU proposals in different food processing areas and has taken major policy initiatives to facilitate an accelerated growth of the industry. The functions of the Ministry can be broadly classified as follows:
Policy Support
• Formulation and implementation of policies for food processing industries within overall national priorities and objectives.
• Facilitating the creation of a conducive policy environment for healthy growth of the food-processing sector.
• Promoting rationalization of tariffs and duties relating to food processing sector.
Developmental
(i) Continued emphasis of the creation of World Class Infrastructure for growth of food processing sector through Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain; and Modernization of Abattoirs and also providing assistance under various Plan Schemes to food processing sector.
(ii) Widening the R & D base in food processing by involvement of various R & D institutes and support to various R&D activities.
Marketing
Marketing is an organizational function and set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. Marketers with a stronger consumer orientation and a broader management approach place emphasis, in defining marketing, on its role in directing the flow of goods and services to the consumer. In other words, marketing is not viewed as the actual performance of such functions as production and design but as the influencing and guiding of these activities through the role marketing plays in decision making. Marketing may also be defined as the activities involved in recognizing consumer needs, developing products and services to satisfy these needs, and creating and then expanding a demand for these products and services.
While marketing, especially in its use of marketing research and in its borrowing from the behavioral sciences, does to some extent employ the scientific method, it can never control all the variables or exactly repeat experiments with the same results. Therefore, marketing is more of an art than a science. Like practitioners of other arts, the marketing person relies on skill, judgment, and intuition in making decisions more often than on scientifically established certainties.
Today, most successful business firms have emerged, or are emerging, from dominance by production and engineering considerations to a marketing management viewpoint, which encompasses all of the activities of the firm. Fundamental to this new philosophy is the recognition and acceptance of a customer-oriented approach. Although the overall dimensions of the business system are determined by individual decisions, such decisions now include a much broader range of interrelated internal and external factors.
Today’s marketing person - more and more, the marketers of the future - rely on systems theories and analysis to guide their decisions. Marketing is seen as a total system, embedded in the overall social and economic system, and not as a collection of unrelated activities and institutions. You will learn more of the systems approach later in this course.
Functions of Marketing
The functions of marketing are embodied in the aggregate of economic activities related to the transfer of property right, selling and buying, the transport and storage of goods, distribution, packaging, financing and procurement.
All these areas involve numerous marketing actions that are distinguished between general and specific functions.
The general functions of marketing are:
• Market and consumer research. This is the main function of all marketing activities. This function implies obtaining the information about the current market situation and future perspectives. This is the foundation of all decisions: formulating the strategy, designing a new product or service, extension to a new market, targeting a specific market.
• Permanent adaptation to the requirements of social and economic environment. This implies the employment of all resources in order to operatively accommodate to the market demands. A company’s adaptability can be measured by comparing the dynamics of the supply it is providing to the dimension, structure and level of demand. It depends on the capacity of the management to use the resources effectively.
• Full satisfaction of demand. This is the objective of any company that aims for a rewarding economic activity. As a company manages to accomplish better the market requirements, its chances to gain profit, increase its turnover and surpass its competitors, rise.
• Maximizing of economic efficiency. It
assumes the optimization of all economic processes (production, transportation, storage, distribution) so that the profitability is increasing.
Marketing involves more than its functions. It has certain principles of organizing the company’s activity:
• Market knowledge. The customer must be helped to make a choice. For this reason, various information from the market need to be collected and analyzed. Information about: the structure and dynamics of demand, tastes and preferences of consumers.
• The company needs to produce what it can sell, not to sell what it can produce.
• Anticipation of consumer preferences. The market needs to be studied and future trends forecasted.
• Marketing for the company, not company for marketing. All resources need to be invested in the business and the staff needs to be motivated to adhere to the company’s general objective.
• Achievement of these principles guides the company to attain the final objective and has a long term perspective of efficient activities.
Promotional Techniques
A company can employ various promotional techniques in order to communicate with the target market, techniques that form the promotional mix.
Depending on the communication means, the promotional techniques can be:
• Direct (personal) communication techniques - focused on creating a relationship with each client (personal sales, direct marketing)
