**2. Materials and Methods**

We carried out two experiments. In experiment 1, mature green (MG) and red (R) tomatoes were stored for 15 days at 2 ◦C either under regular atmosphere (21 kPa O2, RA) or under 0.5, 2.5 and 5 kPa O2, followed by a shelf-life period of 15 days at 20 ◦C. In experiment 2, MG tomatoes cultivated with or without FR were harvested and stored either under RA or under 1 and 5 kPa O2 followed by a shelf-life period of 15–20 days at 20 ◦C. In both experiments, decay index, colour and firmness, respiration rate and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) level were determined at harvest, during cold storage and during subsequent shelf-life.
