Confidence on every level – ToBRFV-resistant varieties you can count on

To help provide new solutions to growers in their fight against ToBRFV, Vegetables by Bayer is testing and launching new tomato hybrids in various glasshouse segments at grower locations globally. Our portfolio currently includes tomato hybrids with Intermediate Resistance to ToBRFV and we are focused on rapidly developing varieties with high ToBRFV resistance in combination with excellent agronomic performance and consumer and retail benefits.

Vegetables by Bayer has not chosen the easy route towards a durable and reliable resistance against ToBRFV. We opted for stacking different resistance genes, each of which intervenes at different moments during the interaction between the virus and the host plant. Incorporating multiple resistance genes takes longer and is more costly, but we expect it to ultimately offer more reliable resistance. As a market leader, we want reliable resistance in our new varieties, which can go hand in hand with good agronomic performance.

In the early stages of development, we conduct testing in our quarantine greenhouse in Wageningen and at multiple locations with growers, to establish a strong foundation for market introduction. At Bayer, we aim to speed up the process without compromising reliability. This challenge has been effectively addressed by conducting a broad range of in-house and external trials with growers and research institutes. Our quarantine greenhouse provides valuable insights into the resistance levels of our portfolio under the most extreme conditions and highest virus pressure. Additionally, it helps breeders to better understand the genetic background of varieties and accelerates the development of resistant varieties with good agronomics.