Role of temperature for color development in tomato
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ANSWER:-
Tomatoes contain two pigments for photosynthesis—chlorophyll, which is green, and lycopene, which is red. When tomatoes start to grow, they contain much less lycopene than chlorophyll, which gives them their green color. But when harvest season arrives, the days shorten and temperatures drop, causing chlorophyll to dissolve and lycopene to take over the shade of the fruit. During this time, sugar levels rise, acid levels drop, and the tomato softens. It becomes ready to eat.
Thus , a decrease in the temperature ( absence of sunlight ) increases the level of lycopene changing the colour of the tomato RED!
Hope this will help , penned in simple language!
Basically, tomato has pigments like chlorophyll , which is green colored and lycopene, which is red colored by nature.
Outer skin looks green in color when a tomato is not completely ripen. This is because the chlorophyll is dominating and the lycopene is present in less amount.
But, when the tomato ripens, the chlorophyll diminishes and lycopene becomes excess. So, tomato turns into a red one.
Temperature plays a vital role in red colorization of the tomato.
Usually, tomato is harvested when it is green in color. Later, it is exposed to ethylene gas at high temperatures. This enhances the ripening process and the color changes from green to red.