Physical Characterisation of Three Nigerian Tomato Varieties (Cobra, Roma, and Owezu): Size and Shape

Physical properties determine how a fruit behaves during sorting, packaging, and when placed on a conveyor belt. Yet the physical profiles of many Nigerian tomato cultivars remain undocumented. This study characterised the size and shape of three tomato varieties; Cobra, Roma, and Owezu grown at Soilless Farm Lab, Ogun State, Nigeria. The physical characteristics of sixty fruits per variety (180 in total) were determined namely; linear dimensions, mean diameters, projected and surface areas, volume, mass, density, porosity, and sphericity. The results showed Roma was the longest (67.27±7.37 mm) and heaviest (83.31±23.10 g) gravimetrically of the three varieties. Cobra was the most spherical (0.99). Owezu recorded the highest porosity (0.63±0.04). These differences in the properties translate to how each variety is sorted, packed, and transported.