HARNESSTOM

Broad and durable begomovirus-resistant tomato varieties through identification of Ty gene combinations targeting aggressive begomoviruses in the Mediterranean Basin, India, and Southeast Asia

Start date: 1 July 2021
End date: 30 June 2022

HARNESSTOM seeks to improve the accessibility, use and knowledge of tomato genetic resources to address global climate change and consumer demand, including:

Stresses imposed by climate change (high temperatures, drought, heat)
Emerging diseases (Tomato brown rugose fruit virus, Tomato leaf curl New Delhi Virus and other aggressive begomoviruses
Consumer requirements for improved tomato flavor, quality, and nutrition

How does the project address the problem?

WorldVeg leads Task 5.5 “Evaluation of existing pre-breeding materials for resistance to ToLCNDV.”
WorldVeg has developed a set of lines pyramiding various Ty gene combinations. A set of WorldVeg lines will be evaluated in field trials conducted by collaborators according to a common protocol in selected hotspots dominated by ToLCNDV and other begomoviruses in the Middle East/North Africa, southern Europe, north India, and Southeast Asia.

This project links to the EU project “HARNESSTOM: harnessing the value of tomato genetic resources for now and the future.” There are 22 projects partners from five EU countries, Taiwan, Israel, and several seed companies.

What results are expected?

Effectiveness of begomovirus (Ty) resistance genes, singly and in various combinations, against ToLCNDV and other aggressive begomoviruses.
New multiple Ty lines incorporated with Ty-6 and other lines developed, including large-fruited indeterminate tomato lines for Taiwan.