Characterization of local tomato varieties (Solanum lycopersicum L.) to promote their valorization and identify new production paths

The conservation and characterization of landraces play key role in the preservation of agrobiodiversity. In particular, they can contribute to food security and improve food nutrition, their use in local markets can provide to the sustainability of rural communities and satisfy both farmers and consumer demands. Accordingly, in the present study a collection of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Sardinian landraces were characterized and assessed in comparison to vintage and modern varieties for evaluating: a) the response of the local varieties to the greenhouse conditions during the autumn/winter season and adopting modern horticultural techniques; b) the diversity of the collection based on morpho-phenological, metabolic and genetic data; c) their response to storage and the changes in their quality characteristics; d) the willingness to pay of consumers for local tomato varieties rather than commercial varieties. Results revealed that the collection is characterized by a high diversity for numerous morpho-phenological and quality traits, allowing to outline the main characteristics that are in a close relationship with the fruit nutritional and commercial value. Moreover, it emerged the consumers willingness to pay high premium prices for local tomato varieties. All these results could be useful to valorize these local tomato varieties in future breeding programs and to plan strategies to support their cultivation and commercialization in regional and national markets.