Health & Fitness
High Lycopene Tomato Seed Trial Results for 2013
I tested tomatoes with high levels of lycopene last year along with about 100 other master gardeners throughout the State. Lycopene is an anti-oxidant and free-radical quencher that is proving helpful in preventing cancer and other diseases. It helps in the fight against cancerous cell formation as well as other kinds of health complications and diseases.
We started each of the six varieties indoors in late April. On average, they were transplanted in early June. All varieties were staked. Our cold, wet, and snowy spring delayed planting 2-4 weeks for most master gardeners in the trial. However, the plants caught up nicely with our periodic heat waves and reported yields were good to excellent.
We knew our six varieties were healthy. We wanted to know how well they tasted! The results were wide-ranging, but we did have some winners.
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Fantastic is an indeterminate variety and was the top rated tomato. Germination was 80%, the flavor was good, and the average size of the fruit was almost 3” in diameter. Health Kick is a plum-shaped determinant variety. It ranked 2nd and had the earliest yield with an average date of August 19th. It produced the most fruit per plant with good flavor. Jet Star, an indeterminate variety and old standard, ranked 3rd. The fruit was almost 3” in diameter, had a good flavor, but the germination rate was only 46%. Tangerine is an heirloom variety and came in 4th. It is a large yellow-orange beefsteak variety and heavy producer.
Indigo Rose is a compact indeterminate that produces a lot of 1½” red and dark purple fruit. Evaluators were not overly impressed with the flavor. Only 39% saying they would grow it again. Last year this variety was a “novelty” of sorts. In addition to Indigo Rose, this year other varieties in this class are available-- Indigo Apple, Indigo Blue Beauty, and Indigo Blue Berries. The high levels of anthocyanins give the skin a deep purple color when exposed to the light. Originally, this class of tomato was bred from wild types collected from Peru and the Galapagos Islands.
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Coming in last was New Girl at number six. This is an indeterminate variety that produces 4-7 ounce fruit. The germination rate was high at 89%, the flavor rated good, but it still ranked last by the evaluators.
Many researchers consider tomatoes to be the healthiest of the fruits and vegetables with the power to ward off some of the worst known diseases to man. While other fruits and vegetables contain lycopene, no other fruit or vegetable has the high concentration of lycopene that the tomato has. And the tested varieties have some of the higher levels of lycopene.
Lycopene is best absorbed by the body when cooked vs. when eaten raw. According to researchers, cancers such as prostate, cervical, colon, rectal, and cancers of the stomach, mouth, pharynx, and esophagus have all been proven to be staved off by higher levels of lycopene.
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