Jan 21, 2021
Researchers at the Israeli Syngenta Vegetable Seeds Company, a world leader in agro-technology, have reached a breakthrough with the development of a new tomato variety.
By TPS
After five years of intensive work, researchers at the Israeli Syngenta Vegetable Seeds Company, a world leader in agro-technology, have reached a breakthrough with the development of a new tomato variety, the world’s first variety resistant (IR) to the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBFRV), which over the past six years has laid waste to more than 50% of the tomato crop in Israel and globally.
Israel is the first country in the world to begin growing the new variety in greenhouses in the Northwest Negev. Because the variety is resistant to the virus, it will be possible to rehabilitate tomato growing, much of which was wiped out by the virus.
ToBRFV resistant variety gives hope to Israeli tomato growers
“Over recent years, I and my fellow growers have felt helpless when faced with a virus that reduced yields by 50%. We were forced to destroy enormous quantities of tomatoes and some have even moved over to growing different crops. Speaking is Idan Alon, a tomato grower in the Northwest Negev Region in Israel, who has seen the devastating effects of ToBFRV. Now there s good news from Zeraim - Gedera - Syngenta, the Israeli department of breeder Syngenta. After five years of intensive work, their researchers, have developed tomato variety Lansor, one of the world’s first varieties resistant (IR) to the ToBFRV virus (tomato brown rugose fruit virus). The good news from Zeraim Gedera – Syngenta constitutes for us, hope and an expectation that we will be able to go back to growing healthy, resistant tomatoes for Israeli consumers, says Idan.