Late Blight all year in beautiful Hawaii

[dkelly]

Hi Everyone,
I am a grower here in Hawaii and have just been hit by the late blight which means I am on spray duty! Copper hydroxide and Oxidate. This is all I can do to slow the progression as I am an commercial organic grower. This is the first season I have seen it.. Being in Hawaii there is no down time for P. infestans and it is ALWAYS raining. So I was thinking since I do this all year long anyways my conditions would provide a good proving ground for resistance. I have done some off season grow outs for other growers and am adept at screening for traits.
I grow more than a thousand plants at a time here so I have room for some extras especially if the fruit has a degree of marketability.
In return I will provide seeds from plants demonstrating desired traits(not getting devastated by blight for one)
Thanks for reading
-d

[Tom Wagner]

Thanks, D Kelly, for posting here on my TATERMATER FORUM. I suppose I should learn more about your operation before I commit tomato seed to you. I really am in need of providing verity to my claim of having some of the best Late Blight res. tomatoes and potatoes around. I have a testing of my lines going to Costa Rica soon, and why not Hawaii?

As to my usual self, I try to search the internet for information to back up my observations and work. Sorry about the rambling nature of it.

I am hoping someone like Patrick could peruse my tomato stocks in person and reflect on how my lines might work in the Netherlands. Hint/wink. Patrick lost all of his tomatoes to LB just the other day.

www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/PD-45.pdf

Tomatoes rank as the 10th most valuable agricultural
commodity in the state of Hawaii, with a 2005 production value of
more than $9.7 million. In addition, there are numerous
unaccounted backyard or small tomato gardens in the
state, making the tomato plant one of the most important
and widely grown food crops.
Yet, a humid and tropical environment favors certain
plant diseases. The fact that one lives in the subtropics
where the climate allows year-round cultivation of
tomatoes does not mean it is necessarily a good idea to
do so, as many unsuspecting gardeners have learned. A
destructive disease, late blight caused by Phytophthora
infestans, awaits the tomato where it is cultivated in
moist, cool, rainy, and humid environments.

Daytime temperatures between 60 and 70°F, night
temperatures between 50 and 60°F, and relative humidity
near 100% are the ideal conditions for infection and
spread of late blight disease.
Predisposing factors include cool, wet weather and
high relative humidity, and large, densely planted crops
of tomato.

Varieties to Plant

The Fl hybrids: N-5, N-52, N-65 and N-69, and varieties Anahu, Healani, Kalohi and Puunui were developed for resistance to the common root-knot nematode and resistance and tolerance to several other common tomato diseases by the College of Tropical Agriculture, University of Hawaii.

A search for late blight res. found the following, albeit a bit out of date..

Lanai - Breeder: Veg. Crops. Dept., University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Parentage: complicated crosses of Lycopersicon peruvianum, L. pimpinellifolium, and six cultivars of L. esculentum. Characteristics: medium early, determinate, open sprawling vine, good vigor, immature fruit uniform light green color; mature fruit scarlet, medium-large, deep. Resistance: fusarium wilt, gray leaf spot, Hawaiian spotted wilt. Adaptation: regionally to Hawaii with the exception of the warmest and coolest elevations and seasons. Hawaii Agric. Expt. Sta. Bul. 103 April, 1950. 1950.

Molokai - Breeder: Veg. Crops Dept., University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Parentage: complicated crosses of L. peruvianum, L. pimpinellifolium, and seven cultivars and lines of L. esculentum. Characteristics: medium early, semi-open, stocky vine, vigor medium; immature fruit uniform very light green; ripe fruit scarlet, medium large, deep. Resistance: fusarium wilt race 1, gray leaf spot, Hawaiian spotted wilt. Adaptation: regionally to Hawaii, moderate elevations and seasons. Hawaii Agric. Expt. Sta. Bul. 103. April, 1950. 1950.

Mini-Rose (Ottawa 85) - Breeder: Central Expt. Farm, Ottawa, Canada. Vendor: W.H. Perron and Co. Parentage: Summerland 58-19 x Ottawa 30. Characteristics: early, pink cherry, vigorous determinate. Resistance: verticillium wilt race 1 and late blight. Adaptation: eastern Canada and United States. Can. J. Plant Sci. 50:358 May 1970.

Interesting that Mini Rose is in the pedigree of some of my better Late Blight res. lines.

Legend (OSU-195) - Breeder: J.R. Baggett. Vendor: Oregan State Agricultural Experiment Station. Parentage: Centennial x Osu-167. Characteristics: determinate, parthenocarpic, most seedless, early maturing, large fruited, resistant to races of late blight. Similar: Siletz and Oregon Spring. Adaptation: Pacific Northwest and other cool areas. 2000.

Legend was not res. to LB for me in 2004, although its ancestor, Centennial was....go figure.

Surecrop (36-2-1-6) - Breeder: New Hampshire Agr. Expt. Sta., Durham. Vendor: Billy Hepler Seed Co. Parentage: L. pimpinellifolium&emdash;Mexico 907W x Mikado, followed by backcross to Victor. Characteristics: high degree late blight resistance, some resistance to early blight. Similar: Victor. Adaptation: northern United States. 1956.

TOMATO BREEDING FOR RESISTANCE TO DISEASES AND PESTS IN BRAZIL

Abstract:

Tomato breeding for resistance to the major diseases and pests has been carried out during the past 20 years at the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas. The tomato cultivar of major importance in Brazil is "Ângela", which was obtained from the cross between "Santa Cruz" and PI 126410. It is resistant to potato Y virus, Fusarium wilt, Stemphylium leaf spot and blossom-end rot. The second cultivar of importance is "IAC Santa Clara", which was obtained from a cross between "Ângela" and "Duke (F1)". Resistance to tomato spotted-wilt virus and tomato leafniner (Scrohipalpuloides absoluta) is being introgressed from PI 134417 (L. hirsutum) and LA 444-1 (L. peruvianum) into tomato.

I found a source for Angela from Seeds by Size in the UK.


What tomatoes are available in Hawaii? I dunno, you tell me.
archives.starbulletin.com/1999/09/17/features/evergreen.html

Richard Sakuoka, a horticulturist and seed specialist who runs the lab, explained how it began in the late 1960s. "At the time there were no commercial seed companies in Hawaii. New crops that were developed by the University of Hawaii had no sales outlet to local farmers and home gardeners. On the mainland, many universities after developing a new variety would turn it over to a seed company to market.
"Here, we were developing varieties of fruits and vegetables that were specially adapted to local disease and fungal problems, and to our climate. What thrives on the mainland will not necessarily do well in Hawaii." So the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources started marketing the seeds themselves. The lab's first big success was with hybrid tomatoes, a few of which are now named Anahu, Kalohi, Puunui, Healani and Kewalo. They were developed for resistance to root-knot nematode and other common tomato ailments. Because they are grown locally, they can be harvested when between three-quarters and fully ripe and actually taste like tomatoes. Those brought in from the mainland must be harvested earlier, which accounts for their peculiar quality of looking like a tomato but tasting like something to stuff mattresses with.
• Developed by UH-CTAHR (College of Tropical Agriculture, University of Hawaii), along with other disease-resistant OP varieties: Healani, Anahu, Kalohi and Puunui.

________________________________________
plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/disease.cfm?RecordID=1084
Cultivar Resistance:

The cultivar 'Legend' has late blight resistance in OSU-trials. WSU researchers have shown that 'Legend' may not be resistant to late blight under high disease pressure. Some cherry tomato cultivars ('Red Cherry' and 'Sweetie') were more tolerant to late blight in WSU trials. 'Matt's Wild Cherry' was considered resistant. The cultivar developed by OSU, Legend, is also considered resistant.

I have tomato crosses and recombinants of Legend, Sweetie, Red Cherry and Matt's Wild. Maybe I need to look at these lines again, maybe even in Hawaii!!!!

www.umassvegetable.org/LateBlightAlertforTomatoandPotato.html .

Disease-resistant or tolerant varieties of tomatoes exist, however seed is in limited supply this year. ‘Mountain Magic’, ‘Plum Regal’, and ‘Legend’ are three varieties with resistance or tolerance to late blight. Note that the variety ‘Legend’ is the only late-blight resistant variety for which seed is readily available this year

I have OP versions of Mountain Magic and many crosses and recombinants of MM. Could be worth a re-look for Hawaii.

vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/Tables/TomatoTable.html has a big list of tomato varieties and what diseases they are resistant to. None in my opinion are listed to match the unique varieties I have for the resistance to Late Blight.


PROGRESS: Oct 1, 2004 TO Sep 30, 2005 www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/192872.html

Several inbred tomato varieties were fixed for disease resistance and horticultural type during this period. Selection for horticultural type was made from field evaluations on the island of Maui and disease resistance selections were based upon marker assisted selection using molecular markers linked to 3 disease resistant genes. The 3 disease resistant genes included Sw-5 conferring resistance to the tomato spotted wilt tospovirus (TSWV), Mi that confers resistance to the root knot nematode, and Tm2a that confers resistance to the tomato mosaic virus. The tomatoes included: a green and yellow striped zebra tomato homozygous for the Sw-5 gene; a red and green striped zebra tomato homozygous for the Sw-5 and Mi genes; a yellow beefsteak tomato homozygous for the Sw-5, Mi and Tm2a genes; and a red cluster type tomato homozygous for the Sw-5, Mi and Tm2a genes.Five to eight Maui farmers will be selected for these trials. Seeds should be available during the first year of this project and will be distributed by the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and evaluated for performance by both CES and research personnel. A genetic backcrossing program to introgress multiple disease resistances into the different tomato types will be initiated. Different tomato types include plum, bunch type, cherry types, and a green zebra. Molecular markers linked TSWV (Sw5 gene), Tomato Mosaic Virus (Tm2a gene), and root knot nematode (Mi gene) resistances will be used in marker assisted selection (MAS) of progeny with desirable phenotype. Selected individuals will be evaluated in the field for desirable phenotype for further backcrosing or selfing to develop elite breeding lines. Elite breeding lines will be used to produce different types of experimental hybrid tomatoes to be evaluated first in experimental plots then in cooperator grower field trials. The parental lines used to produce desirable hybrids lines that are selected by growers for commercial production from the on farm trials will be transferred to the UH Manoa Campus Seed Lab

I note that my own variety Green Zebra is listed above as being homozygous for TSWV (Sw5 gene)....wow!....I was ahead of the game all this time or have they monkeyed with it to get the TSWV gene installed? Someone should call or email the UH Manoa Seed Lab to find out for me.

If TSWV (Sw5 gene) is already in the Green Zebra and I have selections of Green Zebra crossed with the genes PH-2 and PH-3, then perhaps someone like DKelly in Hawaii should be accessing my progenies. Hint/hint.

BTW, Copper hydroxide and Oxidate are not among the controls I use for LB testing. I use nothing at all since I am a natural plant breeder.

I picked earlier today a good number of my late blight res. lines. Many of them are going to go into my vast array of F-2 seed of LB res. x susceptible lines. I am hoping to get some late blight so that I can verify my findings. Imagine that!

Tom Wagner

[DarJones]

Tom,

Legend has PH2. It is not effective against several prevalent strains of late blight. You would have to add PH3 to get consistent tolerance into a breeding line.

DarJones

[Tom Wagner]

Thanks for reminding me about Legend. It was such a bust here in the PNW during the 2004 season. Growers had thousands of Legend plants available that year locally and the next year virtually none.

This topic was started with a need for LB resistance in Hawaii, and the following links indicate that Legend will not be much of a solution there

vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/NewsArticles/Tom_Deploy.htm

The parental lines were either homozygous for the presence of the late blight resistance derived from L. pimpinelifolium L3708 (the early maturity Cornell breeding line and NC 96LB) or for the absence of the late blight resistance gene (NC251E). Another parent (Legend), is homozygous for an alternative late blight resistance gene, Ph2. and so produce hybrids heterozygous for this gene. Legend, NC215E, and NC 96LB are all fresh market tomatoes, and therefore have a larger vine type and less concentration of set than the processing tomato parent. Legend is fairly early, like the Cornell line, but the rest of the parent are late in maturity. Therefore the hybrids vary for maturity as well. The two NC lines also both possess resistance to early blight.
We planned to inoculate all of these plots with the Phytophthora infestans isolate US-17 which can cause disease on plants heterozygous for L3708-derived late blight resistance in lab tests using detached tomato leaves. However there was a problem with the preparation of the US-17 inoculum initially, and at the same time, our plot became contaminated with US-11 when another project applied an early inoculation of that isolate in a neighboring part of the farm. Therefore the experiment was shifted to a test with US-11.

Legend
Ph-2 source that is determinate. Here are some hybrids using Legend as a parent.

Legend X NC96LB
Legend X LB/EB line from NC 96LB
Legend X 993154-10
Legend X CU early maturity LBR
Typically Ph-2 lines show more disease in field trials than was obtained this year with US-11. The Ph-2 containing line Legend shows very little foliar expression of late blight with US-11, although traces of fruit infection was observed at the end of the season. There was too little infection of the Ph-2 control rows exposed to US-11 for any conclusions regarding the benefits to late blight control though combining Ph-2 with the L3708 derived resistance. Further trials will be needed to address this question.
B. 7 genotypes, 2 plant each rep, 4 reps, 3 times, isolate US-7
Genotype Characteristics of Genotype Late Blight Results
Legend Ph-2 source that is determinate Susceptible

993154-10-3 CU A46-derived line - CU early maturity LBR > Resistant
Legend X NC 96LB Legend X LB/EB line from NC 96LB> Light disease
NC215E NC215E >Susceptible
NC 96LB LB/EB line from NC 96LB> Resistant
Legend X 993154-10 Legend X CU early maturity LBR >Light disease
W.V.63 Ph-2 source that is indeterminate >Susceptible

The leaflets of the two Ph-2 lines, Legend and W.V. 63, showed similar high levels of disease symptoms and sporulation when inoculated with US-11.

webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JgOrJ5EMcUEJ:www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-06042003-073908/+Legend+has+PH2+late+blight+resistance&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
E

valuation of an F2 population derived from the cross 'Richter's Wild Tomato' x 'Legend' (Ph-2) indicated that the monogenic resistance conferred by 'Richter's Wild Tomato' was allelic to Ph-2. Combinations of Ph-2, either from 'Richter's Wild Tomato' or 'Legend', and a fresh market line possessing Ph-3 displayed superior resistance versus individual R genes and other R gene combinations in North Carolina field trials under natural inoculation. Combined resistance has the potential to not only provide a superior level of resistance, but to also be more stable over time.

www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/04/01/greenbush/doc4bb37dc90b3ee059111758.txt

Information about last year but is telling about the different strains of LB
According to Dr. Zitter, just like the H1N1 flu we’ve heard so much about, there are various strains of late blight, each differing in the plants it strikes and its virulence. Last year we were bombarded with genotype US22, which is relatively new in the United States and can attack tomatoes, potatoes, and weeds. While bad, strains US11 and US17 are even tougher on tomatoes, while version US8 is more harmful to potatoes. So thank goodness US11, 17 or 8 didn’t come calling.

And don’t be forlorn if all of your tomatoes died; look to the future. Three tomato genes called Ph1, Ph2 and Ph3 are known to confer resistance or tolerance to late blight. Ph3 is the best of the lot, since it protects against multiple late blight strains, including US22. And while a few tomato cultivars, such as ‘Mountain Magic,’ ‘Plum Regal,’ ‘Golden Sweet,’ ‘Juliet,’ and ‘Legend’ are at least somewhat tolerant, we need to send good vibes to the tomato breeders who can get Ph3 into some of our favorite varieties.

Randy Gardner
Tomatovillian™

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: western North Carolina
03-15-2010
You can grow Legend in the Appalachian mountains but it does not perform well compared to most other varieties and is of little use for combating late blight. It has only the Ph-2 gene, which is not very durable most seasons.

If there is any consolation about working for testing any and all sources for LB resistance.......one would hope that others will appreciate my incorporating the various genes into all sorts of heirloom type tomatoes. All too often the emphasis has been with ordinary red tomatoes....boring!

Tom Wagner

[dkelly]

Yes Allot of info Tom! Thanks!
I will sift through when I get a break.
As for me...
I am a full time farmer by trade and grow mainly edible ginger and tomatoes.
I have in the past worked mainly in greenhouses with the toms, never had the blight inside.
I can however lower my costs outside and after trial with appropriate commercial varietys, hierlooms and my own selections I have made over the years I put out a thousand or so...not that much compared to my ginger but a little larger trial haha.

I have a more than a few of my selections that have been selected for yield, crack tolerance, flavor and color. I have grown out thousands of varietals and these are the ones that really do good in our constant drizzle except they are fodder for LB now!
Don't worry even with Champ and Oxidate the fungus still is very virulent!
More out of me when I get some time.
Thanks for your reply guys!

[dkelly]

It is summer now so we have a little less rain.... winter is comming! Anything that lives and produces in winter must have some resistance!

[Tom Wagner]

DKelly,

Thanks for the update.

Keep me in mind for a possible evaluation of a few of my lines of tomatoes.

I will know more about the level of resistance later on...maybe before Oct 10 when I am sure I will get some good info.

Tom

[dkelly]

Hi
I have grown all the U of H varietals. Some rough shapes and cracking they however might be good as a parent line. Are the Ph genes dominant? What would be expected from the cross of a stable Ph line to one lacking that gene?
I am ready at any time to start your seeds as I am highly interested in anything that could save me from the amount of spraying I do!
Pictures soon!
Thanks