India is the world’s second-largest tomato producer but processes less than 1% of its harvest. To ensure tomato growers, processors and consumers benefit from the best tomato fruit available, the World Vegetable Center shared two top-performing dual purpose (fresh market and processing) tomato breeding lines with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) on 24 June 2019 at GIC-India headquarters in Bengaluru.

Dr. Bindumadhava, WorldVeg Plant Physiologist and Manager for the GIZ-GIC-Tomato Value Chain project, presented seed of the two lines to Dr. Sadashiva of IIHR in the presence of Dr. Jonathan Ziebula, Project Director, GIZ-GIC project. Dr. Ziebula appreciated WorldVeg’s initiative in this direction and looks forward to continued success with the new varieties in the future.

“My wish is that these seeds will give birth to new hybrids highly suitable for processing,” remarked Mr. Dhananjaya, a Senior Advisor in Horticulture for GIC-India, who was present at the handover.

Dr. Sadashiva praised WorldVeg’s contributions to India’s vegetable sector and acknowledged its support of IIHR over the years, noting specifically the Center’s development and distribution of useful genetic material for breeding high-value tomato hybrids. IIHR will use the new dual-purpose tomato lines to develop game-changing hybrids for processing, which will deliver new options and add value for all stakeholders in the tomato industry.