ToBRFV, like all plant viruses, exhibits natural genetic variations. It continues to evolve, creating multiple variants with varying levels of aggressiveness. This continual evolution makes it difficult to control. However, there are things we can do together to help protect against ToBRFV.

Confidence on every level

How to protect your crop using the disease triangle

Plant diseases are rarely the result of a single cause. In phytopathology, disease development is classically explained through the interaction of three essential components: the host, the pathogen and the environment – together known as the disease triangle.

The disease triangle is a tool to help understand disease complexity and variability. Vegetable by Bayer promotes a shared approach to disease management and emphasizes a structured assessment of all three sides of the triangle.

Effective disease management is strongest when it integrates:

1.     HOST: Robust genetics and resistance breeding

2.     PATHOGEN: Monitoring and validation of pathogen behavior

3.     ENVIRONMENT: Strong phytosanitation and crop management to limit spread

This integrated perspective reflects core plant pathology principles and supports consistent, science‑based decision‑making.

Choose the right tomato variety

The host represents the plant and its capacity to resist infection.
Host factors include:

• Genetic background and resistance mechanisms
• Crop vigor and stress status (how robust the plant is under growing conditions)
• Growth stage at the time of infection (early vs later infection)

Choosing a ToBRFV-resistant variety may help to reduce disease impact as part of an integrated management approach. But keep in mind — resistance is not immunity. Even the strongest plants can show symptoms under certain conditions. That’s why it is important to consider all three sides of the disease triangle together.

Understand ToBRFV and its mutations

The pathogen is the disease‑causing organism (virus, fungus, bacterium, etc.) and includes factors such as:

• Infectivity and infection pressure
• Biological behavior (how efficiently it infects and spreads)
• Genetic variability over time (e.g., variants)
• Mixed infections (co‑occurrence with other pathogens)

To understand the impact of a new virus variant, biological testing is needed in addition to detailed observation of symptoms. Genetic characterization in combination with symptom evaluation across a panel of resistant varieties, will help to draw conclusions on aggressiveness and assess the potential threat posed by a new variant.

How Vegetables by Bayer helps you manage ToBRFV effectively

• Multi-gene resistance to support disease management
• Rigorous testing and validation, including bioassays, to evaluate resistance performance
• Expert knowledge and insights to help growers stay informed and prepared
• Best-practice crop hygiene guidelines to help reduce disease spread
• Crop management recommendations to support a stronger growing environment
• Partnership and support focused on helping growers manage ToBRFV from every angle

Struggling with ToBRFV? Ask an expert.

This content explains general principles of plant pathology. The disease triangle does not predict crop outcomes and does not replace field‑specific assessment or technical guidance.

References
Foundational Disease Triangle concept

• Francl, L.J. (2001). The Disease Triangle: a plant pathological paradigm revisited. The Plant Health Instructor (APS).

Host / resistance genetics (ToBRFV examples)

• Zinger, A. et al. (2025). Contribution of the tobamovirus resistance gene Tm‑1 to control of ToBRFV resistance in tomato. PLOS Genetics.
• Zinger, A. et al. (2021). Identification and mapping of tomato genome loci controlling tolerance and resistance to ToBRFV. Plants (Basel). DOI: 10.3390/plants10010179.

Pathogen behavior, mutation, and need for bioassay validation

• Zisi, Z. et al. (2024). Single amino acid change in ToBRFV breaks virus-specific resistance in a new resistant tomato cultivar. Frontiers in Plant Science.
• Zarghani, S.N. et al. (2022). Comparison of models for quantification of ToBRFV based on a bioassay using a local lesion host. Plants (Basel).

Environment / sanitation and persistence

• Chanda, B. et al. (2021). Effectiveness of disinfectants against the spread of tobamoviruses: ToBRFV and CGMMV. Virology Journal.
• Ling, K.-S. et al. (2022). Disinfectants useful to manage ToBRFV in greenhouse tomato production. Horticulturae.
• Zamora‑Macorra, E.J. et al. (2026). Analysis of disinfectant efficacy against ToBRFV: surface and method effects in greenhouse production. Agronomy. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy16010015.
• Molad, O. et al. (2024). Longevity in soil and virion susceptibility to pH treatments… Plant and Soil.
• Samarah, N. et al. (2021). Disinfection treatments eliminated ToBRFV in tomato seeds. European Journal of Plant Pathology.
• Davino, S. et al. (2020). ToBRFV seed transmission rate and efficacy of seed disinfection treatments. Plants (Basel).