On-Farm Evaluation of Tomato Cultivars for Disease Resistance, 2008

Bacterial spot of tomatoes (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria) causes lesions on leaves, stems and fruit. Under conditions of hot, humid, rainy weather, defoliation can result in a loss of yield. In addition, lesions on fruit result in a direct loss of marketability. This disease is managed primarily with applications of fixed copper bactericides, crop rotations, greenhouse sanitation, and healthy seed/transplants. Even in properly managed commercial fields, however, bacterial spot can cause yield losses. Although there are no varieties with complete resistance to bacterial spot, we report here the results of an on-farm trial that indicates some varieties may have partial resistance