Marketability Probability Study of Cherry Tomato Cultivars Based on Logistic Regression Models

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate interest in applying simple and multiple logistic regression analyses to the marketability probability of commercial tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars when the tomatoes are harvested as loose fruit. A fruit’s firmness and commercial quality (softening or over-ripe fruit, cracking, cold damage, and rotting) were determined at 0, 7, 14, and 21 days of storage. The storage test simulated typical conditions from harvest to purchase-consumption by the consumer. The combined simple and multiple analyses of the primary continuous and categorical variables with the greatest influence on the commercial quality of postharvest fruit allowed for a more detailed understanding of the behavior of different tomato cultivars and identified the cultivars with greater marketability probability. The odds ratios allowed us to determine the increase or decrease in the marketability probability when we substituted one cultivar with a reference one. Thus, for example, the marketability probability was approximately 2.59 times greater for ‘Santyplum’ than for ‘Angelle’. Overall, of the studied cultivars, ‘Santyplum’, followed by ‘Dolchettini’, showed greater marketability probability than ‘Angelle’ and ‘Genio’. In conclusion, the logistic regression model is useful for studying and identifying tomato cultivars with good postharvest marketability characteristics.