Disease Resistant Hybrid Tomato SeedHome

Adoption of multiple disease resistant tomato variety / F1 hybrid is the most practical way to combat these serious diseases as no chemical application can effectively control them. Research efforts were carried out for several years at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore and a high yielding tomato F1 hybrid "Arka Rakshak" was bred with triple disease resistance to ToLCV + BW + EB by crossing an advanced breeding line bred at IIHR with another breeding line bred at Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC), Taiwan. This is the first multiple disease resistant public bred tomato F1 hybrid released for commercial cultivation in the country. Interdisciplinary approach involving a breeder, virologist, bacteriologist, pathologist and molecular biologist was successfully adopted to breed Arka Rakshak . Further efforts are on the way to introgress late blight resistance genes in to Arka Rakshak back ground through Marker Assisted Breeding.

Salient Features of Arka Rakshak

Arka Rakshak: A High yielding F1 hybrid with triple disease resistance to tomato leaf curl virus, bacterial wilt and early blight. Plants are semi-determinate with dark green foliar cover. Fruits are oblong with light green shoulder. Fruits are medium to large size (80-100g), deep red, very firm with good keeping quality (15-20 days) and long transportability. Bred for both fresh market and processing. Suitable for summer, kharif and rabi seasons. Yields 90-100 tons per hectare in 140-150 days.

Source: http://www.iihr.res.in/