Tomatoes Varieties with High Levels of Lycopene

Are you planning to grow tomatoes this year? Do you know which varieties you will be buying? What do you look for in the tomatoes you buy? Taste? Size? Color? Big or cherry-sized tomatoes? 

Tomatoes are the fourth most popular vegetable grown in the USA. There are tens of thousands of varieties to choose from. Some tomatoes have high levels of lycopene, which can provide you with greater health benefits than other varieties. 

Here is a list of tomatoes that have been identified as having those higher levels. Two varieties are heirloom or open-pollinated, which means you can save the seed for planting the next year. Some seed catalog companies offer one or more of these varieties. Check your local garden center as well. 

Health Kick VFFA Hybrid has a tolerance to Spotted Wilt, and Bacterial Speck. It has a plum shape and weighs about 4 ounces. This determinate variety matures in 74 days, grows about 48” tall, and has an excellent yield and flavor. Tomatoes turn bright red when mature. Research indicates this variety has 50% more lycopene than any other tomato. 

Tangerine is an heirloom variety that was introduced in 1992. It has a deep yellow-orange color. This large beefsteak variety is indeterminate and matures in 85 days, The texture is meaty and the flavor is both sweet and rich. Tangerine should produce higher yields of fruit. 

Jet Star VF Hybrid produces a medium-sized fruit, about 8 ounces in weight. It is a low acid tomato with a great taste. You should expect high yields from this red variety. It is generally crack free, indeterminate in growth habit and matures in 72 days. Jet Star is not recommended for canning due to its low acid content. 

Fantastic VF Hybrid is a globe-shaped scarlet red tomato. It produces  medium-sized fruits that are generally crack free. The heavy yields are excellent for canning. This indeterminate variety matures in 65 days. 

New Girl VF1, 2 Hybrid produces medium-sized fruit in about 62 days. This variety has outstanding flavor for an early tomato. New Girl resists over-ripening so they keep longer with no decrease in flavor. They are an indeterminate variety, which means they bear fruit all season long. 

Indigo Rose – This open-pollinated variety may be more difficult to harvest (or, rather when to harvest). It is higher in anthocyanins and produces smaller 1-2 ounce fruits. This indeterminate variety matures in about 80 days. This is a purple variety from Oregon State University and it is truly a purple variety. Indigo Rose has far more anthocyanins than other so-called purple or black tomato varieties. 

Some history: Development first began in the 1960s when two breeders, one from Bulgaria and the other from the USA, first crossed cultivated tomatoes with wild species from Chile and the Galapagos Islands. Some wild species have anthocyanins in their fruit. However, tomato varieties grown in the home garden have had the beneficial pigment only in their leaves and stems, which are not edible. 

Indigo rose is an open-pollinated variety and seed saved from these plants should grow true and not produce hybrids. These tomatoes are not GMO or GE.* Caution: do not pick this variety too early. When mature, the color of the fruit changes from a shiny blue-purple to a dull purple-brown. Sunlight produces anthocyanin in the fruit. If the fruit are shaded by the leaves, the purple pigment does not develop. However, if you pick the fruit and expose the non-purple area to sunlight it will turn purple in about a week, according to Jim Meyers, professor in the OSU horticulture department. 

Mighty Sweet Hybrid produces a 2 ounce grape tomato. It has high levels of flavonoids, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and lycopene. The determinate growth habit makes it ideal for containers. You should harvest the fruit in 55 days. 

Tasti-Lee Hybrid VFFF.  This variety has good resistance to disease and was developed by the University of Florida. The fruit is a rich red color with a true tomato flavor, which means it has a good balance of sugar and acid content. The plant growth is determinate and produces fruit in 72 days. 

First Lady II VFNTAST. This hybrid variety has very good resistance to several diseases. The indeterminate growth habit produces 6 ounce fruit in about 68 days. The fruit are crack resistant and average 3-4 inches in diameter. 

Indeterminate varieties typically grow to 6-7 feet, so you should stake or support these varieties. However, it is a good practice to stake, cage, or support all varieties of tomatoes, determinate and indeterminate, except the very smallest and those created especially for patio containers. 

Okay, so why bother raising any of these varieties? Lycopene is an anti-oxidant and free-radical quencher that is proving helpful in preventing cancer and other diseases. It helps in the fight against cancerous cell formation as well as other kinds of health complications and diseases. While other fruits and vegetables do contain this health ingredient, no other fruit or vegetable has the high concentration of Lycopene that the tomato has. Lycopene is best absorbed by the body when cooked vs. when eaten raw. According to researchers, cancers such as prostate, cervical, colon, rectal, and cancers of the stomach, mouth, pharynx, and esophagus have all been proven to be staved off by higher levels of lycopene. 

There has been slow but steady progress indicating that tomatoes and tomato based products may prevent serum lipid oxidation and reduce the risk of macular degenerative disease. Tomatoes are by far “the healthiest of the fruits and vegetables with the power to ward off some of the worst known diseases to man.” 

Anthocyanins are in a class of flavonoids that have potential health benefits. In addition to tomatoes, fruits such as blueberries have these higher levels of anthocyanins. Tomatoes, which are fruits not vegetables, are an important addition to your diet. 

You can buy tomatoes of course, but why not grow them? Growing tomatoes will get you outside for some Vitamin D, give you some exercise, and also reward you with great tasting and a healthy food. Growing these higher Lycopene varieties will provide you with even better health benefits.

* GMO = Genetically Modified Organism, GE = Genetically Engineered

Questions? Comments? Please contact me on this blog or at larryc@cci4360.com.