I love tomatoes and just for this, I dedicate this article to them.

CHARACTERS AND CULTIVATION
The tomato (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM) is a solanacea native to South America that, for a long time after its introduction in Europe (XVI century), was cultivated for ornamental use only, because considered not edible.

Only in the XIX century its cultivation started and become massive, especially in the Mediterranean area, where it become a protagonist in local gastronomy, like in Italy, that is the 3rd tomatoes producer in the world.

The tomato plant has a great production of leaves, starting from its lower part, close to the ground.

In some varieties, the stem develops continuously, while in others, with DETERMINED DEVELOPMENT, the growth stops after producing a certain number of leaves and flowers.
The fruit is a BERRY that can have many shapes, depending on many varieties existing in commerce.
The plant is typical of hot-temperate climates and needs a minimum of 12-13C to germinate and 22-25C to grow and produce fruits.
It can fit to every kind of soil, but with abundant dung fertilization and a lot of water, with supplementary and continuous irrigation during the hottest months.

Tomato can have two main destinations:

- The colture for fresh consumption; tomatoes are usually collected not fully mature and are usually more tasty than those cultivated in greenhouses.
- The industrial colture, for which tomatoes are collected fully mature, to produce PEELED CANNED TOMATOES, JUICES and SAUCES, from JULY to SEPTEMBER and its collection is, largely, manual.

In my Country, disgracefully, tomatoes harvest for industry and markets is made, above all, EXPLOITING the immigrants from all the world, with very low wages, without any sort of contract and, they're lodged in terrible conditions in abandoned houses or hangars; nearly all, in illegal conditions.
We shouldn't ignore this unknown face of tomato.

The residuals of industrial production (skins and seeds)are used to make fodder for animals, after the extraction of oil from seeds.

NUTRITIONAL VALUES
- Tomato is rich of C-VITAMIN, mainly in the gel surrounding the seeds and BETA-CAROTENE;
- It gives only 17 Kcal/100 gr. and, for this, it's particularly indicated for slimming diets.
- It contains LYCOPENE, a pigment considered a good anti-cancer preventive agent.

Here is a little table about FRESH TOMATO nutrients in weigh % :

- PROTEINS: 1.20
- LIPIDS: 0.20
- TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES: 2.80 of which:
- STARCH: 0.0
- SOLUBLE CARBOHYD.: 2.80

- EDIBLE FIBER: 1.30

MINERALS and VITAMINS: (mg/100 gr)
- CALCIUM: 11.0
- IRON: 0.40
- SODIUM: 17.0
- POTASSIUM: 268.0

- B1-VITAMIN: 0.03
- B2 " : 0.03
- PP " : 0.90
- A " : 42.0
- C " : 21.0

Learn more about this author, Aldo Bonincontro.
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