Israel develops drought resistent tomato

Tomato varieties that require less water and produce a high yield, even in extreme drought conditions, have been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was led by doctoral student Shai Torgeman and professor Dani Zamir from the Hebrew University Robert H Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The researchers identified interactions between two regions of the tomato genome that resulted in a 20 per cent to 50 per cent increase in the overall yield under irrigated conditions, as well as in droughts.

"The unique structure of the new population, which enables precise mapping of the tomato genes, has the potential for extensive application in other plants and could increase productivity," the researchers say.