“The main challenge is to supply the high demand for seeds, as we need to comply with local regulations”

As the global tomato industry faces the challenge of the highly infectious Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), Bayer is leading the charge in developing innovative, long-term solutions to protect crops and ensure profitability for growers. With new product launches expected in 2025 and strong interest from growers worldwide, Bayer’s advancements represent significant progress in sustainable tomato production and potentially beyond. In an exclusive interview with AgroSpectrum, Javier Quintero, Global Lead for Tomato R&D at Bayer's Crop Science division, shares insights into the company’s groundbreaking work on multi-stacked resistance, an advanced strategy designed to outsmart the virus’s rapid mutation rate. Edited excerpts:

- JAVIER QUINTERO, Global Lead for Tomato R&D, Bayer’s Crop Science division

Could you share what motivated Bayer's focus on developing multi-stacked resistance in tomato varieties? Additionally, could you explain how this approach differs from the first generation of ToBRFV-resistant tomatoes?

This is a very high-impact virus, and we did intensive research on plant-virus interactions. The first generation of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (TOBRFV) resistant varieties has been useful for immediate solutions to an urgent problem. However, internal and external studies indicated that the virus is actively mutating, and we anticipated the virus to overcome single-gene resistance. For these reasons, several years ago, we initiated a horizontal resistance breeding strategy where bringing several genes together provides a good level of resistance that is expected to hold up and be more durable against mutations in the virus. We now have commercial products available with multiple resistant genes, good agronomics, and very nice consumer quality.

Furthermore, could you elaborate on the mechanisms by which these multi-stacked resistance genes work to disrupt different stages of the plant-virus interaction?