ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the origin and distribution, nutritional composition, medicinal values, climatic requirement, soil requirement, cultivated varieties and post-harvest management of tree tomato. Tree tomato is cultivated and naturalized in Venezuela and grown in the highlands of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Haiti. It prefers deep lateritic soil with good fertility and water retention capacity. The tree tomato is chiefly cultivated for its edible fruits, which are a source of food and a potential raw material for the processing industry to prepare syrup and chutney in Auckland, New Zealand. The tree tomato contains vitamin A, which is imperative for improving eyesight, maintaining skin health and supporting red blood cells. The tree tomato is a nutrients exhaustive crop, therefore, judicious application of fertilizers is necessary to obtain a good yield. Aphid, tree tomato worm, whitefly and root-knot nematodes are the insect pests that attack tree tomato crop during its life cycle.
