Evaluation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) varieties for heat tolerance under high temperature conditions in Kalahandi District of Odisha, India

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops grown all over the globe, but in present context due to global warming its productivity is highly affected by high temperature stress, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical arid regions. The present investigation was performed to evaluate the performance of three tomato varieties Arka Apeksha, Sahoo, and Bahubali for heat tolerance under high temperature conditions in the Kalahandi District during the summer season. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three replications, and various growth, yield, and economic parameters were recorded. Significant variations were observed among the varieties for most of the traits studied. The investigation revealed tomato variety Arka Apeksha with superior performance in terms of seedling establishment (482 plants), plant height (94.70 cm), leaf area (520 cm²), and earliness in flowering (34 days). This variety also recorded the highest number of flowers per plant (85), fruit set (72%), fruits per plant (55), and longer fruiting duration (75 days). Consequently, Arka Apeksha produced the highest yield per plant (4.5 kg) and yield per hectare (226.2 q ha⁻¹), followed by Sahoo (189.7 q ha⁻¹) and Bahubali (176.3 q ha⁻¹). The total soluble solids of tomato as fruit quality ranged from 4.2 to 4.8° Brix for three varieties, with Arka Apeksha exhibiting the highest value. The economic estimates of tomato varieties revealed that Arka Apeksha generated the highest gross return (Rs. 579,500 ha⁻¹), net return (Rs. 362,488 ha⁻¹), and benefit to cost ratio (2.67). The results clearly indicate that Arka Apeksha possesses better heat tolerance, higher productivity, and greater economic profitability under high temperature conditions. Therefore, this variety can be recommended for commercial cultivation in hot climatic regions of western Odisha.