ABSTRACT
Ensuring the genetic diversity of tomato Andreas W. Ebert and Lawrence Kenyon, AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, Taiwan
1 Introduction: key issues relating to the genetic diversity of tomatoes
2 Taxonomy and mating system of tomato and its wild relatives
3 Conservation of tomato genetic resources worldwide
4 Policies affecting access to plant genetic resources
5 Issues affecting the exchange and use of plant genetic resources
6 Phytosanitary requirements for the exchange of plant genetic resources
7 Phytosanitary measures in practice: the case of solanaceous viroids
8 Ways to strengthen sharing of crop genetic resources
9 Summary and future trends
10 Where to look for further information
11 References
Tomato is the most important vegetable crop grown worldwide in terms of production value, ranking 8th among all food and agricultural commodities in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015). In 2012 global tomato production touched 161.8 million metric tons, with a production value of $59.1 billion. The top five producer countries were China (50 million metric tons; 30.9% of world production); India (17.5 million metric tons; 10.8%); USA (13.2 million metric tons; 8.2%); Turkey (11.4 million metric tons; 7.0%) and Egypt (8.6 million metric tons; 5.3%). During the last 20 years (1993-2012) the tomato production area expanded from 3 to 4.8 million hectares (60% increase), yield increased from 25.8 to 33.7 t/ha (30.6% increase) and total production doubled from 77.9 to 161.8 million metric tons (FAOSTAT, 2015).
