Israeli seed breeder Hazera Genetics this week launched what it claims to be "the world's first tomato strain that is immune to the tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV)".
The disease-resistant tomato, nicknamed Tracie, is a breakthrough for tomato growers, especially those who cultivate long-life species. Tracie can now be grown in open fields and in ventilated greenhouses throughout the summer, according to a report in Israeli daily Haaretz. TYLCV is the world's most severe tomato disease affecting crops globally and causing growers financial losses of hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
The price of one kilo of seed of the new strain is expected to be around $30,000. Alon Haverfeld, manager of Hazera's tomato-seeds division, maintains that the company, Israel's largest seed breeder, expects its sales of the strain will reach $1 million next year. "And they will reach nearly $7 million a year within three to four years," said Dr Haverfeld.
According to the newspaper report, no resistant strains have been found since the first outbreak of the virus in the 1930s. And pesticides used to counter the bugs carrying the virus have often proved ineffective at preventing its spread. As a result, open-field tomato production has been curtailed in favour of cultivation under covers to prevent YLTCV carrier the Bemisia tabaci whitefly, from entering greenhouses.
Some 95 per cent of Israel's tomato crops are grown under cover.
The Tracie strain has been tested "and found resistant not only in Israel, but also in Spain, Greece and Egypt," found the report. Tracie is also undergoing extensive testing in Mexico and Brazil.
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