Tomato is cultivated throughout the world. China, USA, India, Turkey and Egypt are the top five tomato producing countries in the world. In India, tomato is grown on an area of 3.5 × 105 ha with an annual production of 5.3 × 105 MT. Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Assam are important tomato growing states in India. Tomato is a versatile vegetable and is used in a variety of ways. It is consumed fresh in salads and sandwiches. No culinary preparation is complete without the addition of tomato. Most of the tomato produced in the world is processed into sauce, puree, catch-up, juice etc. Tomato is also one of the important sources of lycopene, a powerful natural anti-oxidant used in pharmaceuticals. Tomato was introduced into Europe shortly after 1521, when Spanish explorer Cortez conquered Mexico. The first tomatoes introduced into the Europe were yellow coloured and the red types were introduced many years later. From Spain, the tomato spread to Italy, France and other European countries. The Italians grew it around 1550.

Assoc. Prof. Mohamed Abdel-Raheem, Pests &Plant Protection Department,Agricultural and Biological Research Division, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.Assoc. Prof. Ibrahim Abd El-Rahman,Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture,,Al-AzharUniversity Egypt.Assoc. Prof. Farha Faragalla,Plant Protection Research Institute, ARC.