Genotypic difference in response to heat shock treatment in some tomato cultivars grown under cold stress [electronic resource].

Includes references.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) belongs to the family Solanaceae which is considered one of widely consumable nutritious and widely grown vegetable in the world. Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops in the whole world after potato both in area and production (Shoaib et al., 2012). It is extensively cultivated in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world all year round. However, their production is seriously limited because of abiotic stress such as drought or salinity and extreme temperature (Cuartero et al., 2006). The requirements for high yield and premium quality are represented in a relatively cool, dry climate. However, it is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions from temperate to hot and humid tropical. The optimum temperature for most varie-ties ranged between 21 and 24°C. The minimum, optimum and maximum tem-perature for all development stages ranges from 11-18, 16-29 and 20-24, respectively (Naika et al., 2005