Cherry tomatoes on an Israeli farm: Leket has brought in volunteers to tend to and pick crops so that they do not go to waste. (Raymond Crystal/The Media Line)

Save the Tomato: Israeli Scientists Fight Devastating Plant Disease (VIDEO REPORT)

Maya Margit

11/08/2020

Researchers uncover new ways to counter virus sweeping crops around the world

Israeli researchers from leading agricultural institutes have found a new way to combat a viral disease that has devastated tomato crops around the globe.

First observed in southern Israel in 2014, tomato brown rugose fruit virus, also known as TBRFV or ToBRFV, has caused untold damage to tomato plants in recent years and has been detected in Europe, North America and throughout the Middle East.

Similarly to HIV in humans, TBRFV weakens the immune system of tomato plants, making them particularly susceptible to various pathogens such as fusarium solani, a group of fungi that wreak havoc on crops.

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