Mechanical properties of tomato exocarp, mesocarp and locular gel tissues

► Tomato was regarded as a multibody system, which consist of three portions. ► Et of tomato exocarp tissue varied 4.601-9.59 MPa. ► Ec of mesocarp and locular gel varied 0.726-0.846 MPa and 0.048-0.124 MPa respectively. ► Variety had a significant effect on the σc, Ec, σt, Et and τs, but not σb and Eb. ► E of outer layer tissue of tomato fruit was higher than that of inner layer tissue.