NewBreed Ltd was established by Prof. Dani Zamir with a mission to translate the Hebrew University's tomato knowledge to breed processing, fresh market, and cherry tomato hybrids. In 2014 tomatoes in Israel started to suffer from the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV), which is a relative of the TMV and was characterized and named in 2016 by a Jordanian research team.
NewBreed started breeding for virus resistance, finding that the old TMV resistance gene, TM1, confers resistance to the ToBRFV. TM1 was later replaced by breeders with TM2, which provides better protection for the tomatoes, and as a result, modern hybrids do not carry TM1. "We re-introduced TM1 to cherry, cluster, and single fruits varieties and now have a family of resistant hybrids. It should be noted that TM1 is not a 'silver bullet' against the virus: genetic background affects the level of resistance, and therefore it is necessary to select germplasm that maximizes the TM1 protection. In addition, it is clear that TM1 does not protect the fruits from virus-induced blotchy ripening, and thus it is necessary to select for genetic backgrounds with more homogeneous red fruit color.
ToBRFV can survive in soils, making it a persistent threat for glasshouse cultivation. To improve productivity, tomato varieties are often grafted on 'strong' rootstock. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no ToBRFV-resistant rootstocks on the market as yet. When grown in virus-infected soils, susceptible rootstocks support virus replication that can break the TM1-resistant scions. NewBreed developed a resistant, vigorous rootstock (YOGEV) that, together with our large fruited resistant scions, such as NBK_20227, can help tomato growers in the fight against the virus. This grafting combination has been tested for the past three years in Israel by commercial growers and the results make us proud to offer a "better together" ToBRFV resistance that combines NewBreed rootstock and scions.
For more information:
NewBreed
Dan@newbreed-seeds.com
newbreed-seeds.com