Overview of the Research

However, a groundbreaking study published in Plant Phenomics on August 5, 2024, lays a promising foundation for the development of more disease-resistant tomato varieties.

Focus on Wild Tomato Species

The research team explored QDR in four distinct wild tomato species: Solanum habrochaites, Solanum lycopersicoides, Solanum pennellii, and Solanum pimpinellifolium, focusing particularly on their resistance against the notorious pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Innovative Phenotyping System

Utilizing the innovative "Navautron" automated phenotyping system, the researchers continuously captured real-time images of infected tomato leaves. A segmentation algorithm was employed to derive critical parameters, including infection frequency (IF), lag-phase duration, lesion doubling time (LDT), and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC).