Effect of Light on the Formation of a Pigment in the Tomato Fruit Cuticle

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Abstract
The light-controlled production of a yellow pigment in the cuticle of the tomato variety Rutgers was studied. This pigment, which appears to be a flavonoid type compound, was present in cuticles of fruits ripened in light, but absent in those of fruits ripened in dark. The formation of the pigment in dark-ripened fruits was induced by brief daily irradiations with light of very low energies early during the period of ripening. The response, as pigment formation, was generally localized to the area exposed to the light and thus was not systemic. The effect of red radiation of longer than 5800 A was the production of the yellow pigment. The effect of this red radiation was cancelled by immediate subsequent treatment with far-red radiation beyond 6950 A leaving the apparent effect of uninterrupted darkness. When fruits were immediately given additional cycles of red and far-red, the pigment response depended upon the last exposure to red or far-red. Effects of light on pigmentation of tomato fruit cuticles clearly show that the tomato has the light-reacting mechanism that enables other plants to respond photoperiodically. Failure of the tomato to be photoperiodically controlled thus results from its failure to exhibit rather than its failure to have the controlling light reaction.

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