Since ToBRFV was first discovered, our industry-leading R&D team has been working to find a solution to ToBRFV.

• We are currently working towards the next-generation hybrids with High Resistance in our pipelines and commercial portfolio through combined technical paths and deployment strategies.
• We are deploying the newest disease diagnostics technologies to assess pathogen evolution and reduce disease risk.
• We have been actively supporting an initiative to further understand the epidemiology of ToBRFV by sequencing various strains of the virus.
• We have a thorough testing protocol for new hybrids to support agronomic performance under a wide range of conditions (disease pressure, various environments and management conditions).

From our research to date and collaboration discussions about the virus, it seems most likely that genetic resistance achieved through plant breeding will deliver a durable resistance platform and that a vaccine may not be needed.

The International Seed Federation has established a Definition of the Terms Describing the Reaction of Plants to Pests for the Vegetable Seed Industry. The categories include Susceptibility, Intermediate Resistance (IR), and High Resistance (HR). ISF encourages vegetable seed companies to use these terms in communication with their customers to support a common understanding.

ISF defines IR as restricting the growth and/or development of the specified pest and/or the damage it causes. However, it may exhibit a greater range of symptoms or damage compared to High Resistant varieties. Intermediate Resistant plant varieties will still show less severe symptoms or damage than susceptible plant varieties when grown under similar environmental conditions and/or pest pressure.

Our IR claim is based on the fact that infected plants, even in situations where they may show zero or a low level of symptoms, can still carry and transmit the virus.

An HR claim could be considered when the growth or spread of the virus is highly restricted. (ISF)

It is important to understand that IR and HR claims are based on an infection with solely ToBRFV. Combinations of infections, e.g., Pepino Mosaic Virus and ToBRFV, are likely to show more symptoms. An HR claim does not mean the plant is immune to the virus.

Our new products with stacked genes undergo rigorous screening. Trials are carried out in real-life conditions mirroring growers’ challenging environment instead of a clean-room setup. We will release the products to the market with ToBRFV resistance only if it has achieved the intended standards. We have developed roadmaps towards the first sales of higher resistance for important glasshouse segments. This started in 2022 with beef and will continue in 2023 with cocktail round and for other segments in 2024 and 2025.

We are testing our pipeline in Wageningen where we have a quarantine compartment. We test the performance of our varieties with both viruses and under grower conditions as well as several locations around the globe in internal trial locations. This gives confidence that the resistance level we claim will work under growers’ conditions provided the grower has also taken all necessary measures. This is supported by extensive trialing across glasshouse and greenhouse environments naturally exposed to individual and joint virus pressure in the major global markets.