How to Slow the Ripening of Tomatoes

The tomato fruit is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes and sauces, and in drinks. While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes (as well as by the United States Supreme Court, see Nix v. Hedden), which has caused some confusion. The fruit is rich in lycopene, which may have beneficial health effects.

There are times when the price of tomatoes is very low because there is an over supply of production which causes great loss for farmers. So most of the time, tomatoes just rot in the field, causing financial losses. Outstanding young farmer of the Philippines Romeo Yapit of Purac, Sinait, Ilocos has a solution to this problem.

To slow the ripening of tomatoes, he arranges the tomatoes and covers half of the number with uncooked rice hull and the other half with carbonized rice hull. It would take five months for the tomatoes to ripen. By that time, it’s rainy season already when tomatoes can be sold at a higher price.