Advanced breeding lines from the IAC tomato breeding program and several tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cultivars and F1 hybrids were screened for tospovirus and potyvirus resistance under field conditions, at Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, during the 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 growing seasons. During the first season, only Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV) was detected in plants of the experimental area. On both evaluations, all seven lines (IAC group) were resistant to TCSV, with under 28% of infected plants. The tomato cultivars and hybrids were highly susceptible, with greater than 85% of infected plants, except for 'Franco', with 55% of infected plants. During the 2003/2004 growing season, the number of IAC lines evaluated was raised from seven to ten, and they were compared to five cultivars/F1 hybrids and to L. peruvianum LA-444-1. On this experiment, only Potato virus Y (PVY) was detected in plants. Evaluations were carried out using a symptom intensity scale and ELISA. Considering both criteria, it was verified that only LA-444-1 displayed high resistance to PVY. In addition, 'Tyrade' displayed an intermediate behavior while all other lines, cultivars and hybrids behaved as susceptible to this potyvirus. These results highlight the need of introgressing resistance to multiple viruses in tomato breeding programs, taking into consideration the economical importance and relative incidence of each virus in different geographical regions and natural variations on incidence from year to year.
Lycopersicon esculentum; L. peruvianum; Tospoviridae; Potyviridae; plant resistance
