CONSTRAINTS TO THE GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF TOMATO

Abstract

Tomato is known to be the second largest vegetable crop after potato in the world. Its uses vary on a large scale as it can be consumed as fresh or in processed forms. It has been recognized to have various beneficial impacts on the human body as it is packed with various minerals, nutrients and bioactive compounds. The growth and yield of tomato fruits are reduced and limited due to several constraints (abiotic & biotic stress) which includes drought, salinity, flooding, bacterial and diseases. Tomato is vulnerable to infection by many diseases, the most important of which are the fungal diseases, out of which the Fusarium wilt disease leads the group with the highest infection rate of tomato. Effective measures have been sought after in order to mitigate the effect of these constraints and improve the overall yield of tomato, and mostly biological control (biocontrol) strategies have proved to be more effective through the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) which are able to colonize the roots of plants and directly improve plant growth through increase in soil fertility and aiding the plant to tolerate drought stress amongst other benefits. Recent outbreak of Tuta absoluta, a tomato disease in 2016 in Nigeria resulted in the scarcity and high cost of tomato, however, the use of bio-control techniques aided to overcome the outbreak. As a result of this, the aim of these research is to show the constraints to the global production of tomato and also the effective use of biological control techniques in mitigating these constraints, thereby improving tomato production.