53
THE CONTRIBUTIONOF
TOMATO
One of the flagships of Embrapa Veg-
etables is the tomato, a vegetable that
is greatly representative in the Brazilian
Center-West, where the Embrapa unit is
based. Since its structuring, it has intense-
ly contributed towards the production vi-
ability of the fruit, through joint initiatives
in pursuit of research-based solutions,
development and innovation for meet-
ing the identified needs of the growers,
partner companies and institutional pro-
grams. Technology transference involves
efforts towards bridging the gap between
scientific researchand thesupplychain.
The findings of the researchers can
be followed through circular letters and
technical information published by the
unit, andalso throughbooks that contain
informationon the sector. Publications so
far released comprise books like “Tomato
plant diseases”, by Carlos Alberto Lopes
and Antônio Carlos de Ávila; “Irrigation of
organic tomato crops”, by Waldir Apare-
cidoMarouelli, DanielaAnacletodaCosta
Lage and Marcos Brandão Braga, and
“Production of tomatoes for industrial
processing”, by technical editors Flávia
ClementeandLeonardoBoiteux.
head of Embrapa Vegetables’ Research
and Development Department, the focus
of the operation comprises the vegeta-
ble market, its consumption trends, en-
hancement and vegetable sanity, besides
cultivation systems and post-harvest pro-
cedures. “The unit acts in partnerships
in the generation and transformation
of technologies for different social seg-
ments, on behalf of the development of
new products and services”, the agrono-
mist clarifies. The work aims the devel-
opment of materials adapted to the Bra-
zilian climate and soil conditions.
The PhD in soils and plant nutrition,
highlights the importance of expanding
the vegetables agricultural frontier, as
well as regular supplies all year round.
He cites the representativeness of the
segment for Brazilian agribusiness and
its economic importance in the whole-
sale distribution business involving about
R$ 26.84 billion a year. If the consumers
are taken into consideration, this amount
climbs to R$ 53.49 billion a year. At least,
there are 842 thousand hectares devoted
to olericulture, with harvests in excess of
19.6 million tons.
