Siccagno Tomato from Sicily (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)

Siccagno Tomato from Sicily (Lycopersicon lycopersicum): an important and heirloom cultivar “u Siccagnu” typical from Southern Italy, the main peculiarity is that can be grown without irrigation.

This implies a very high sustainability: saving of irrigation water,  great resistance to the Phytopathologies common to tomatoes,  limited presence of unwanted wild plants, due to the dry soil.

The fruit, oblong in shape, is small (around 20 gm), the production is reduced, but its organoleptic characteristics are not affected, on the contrary, it is tasty and allows for numerous uses in the kitchen.

The scarce presence of water in the fruit, and its thick skin, make it excellent for winter storage.

In Sicilia it is used to make dried tomatoes as well as sauces.

Insights

Before the second WW, the cultivar of Seccagno /Siccagno or dried tomato were widespred.

Not only in Sicily and Calabria, but throughout Southern Italy up to Lazio, with a variety called “dried tomato” grown without irrigation and stored by hanging them in braids for the winter.

All the varieties of Seccagno are in fact “storable”, that is, suitable for winter storage.

Commercially, the siccagno is currently cultivated only in Sicily, particularly in Valledolmo, Sclafani Bagni, Alia Vallelunga, Villalba.