Israeli Scientists Develop Drought-Resistant Tomatoes To Combat Climate Change Impact
New crossbred tomato variety requires half as much water and can cope with extreme weather conditions
Israeli scientists have developed a new variety of tomato that is more drought-resistant, potentially helping farmers deal with the impact of climate change. The tomato, which has yet to be named, was created through crossbreeding a wild variety from the deserts of western Peru with a common commercial cultivar. The study, led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, identified interactions between two areas of the tomato’s genome that lead to increased yield and resistance to dry conditions, resulting in a plant that can cope with extreme weather conditions and requires half as much water as commercial varieties.
The drought-resistant tomato could be a game-changer for California, which produces about 30% of the world’s tomatoes and 95% of America’s processed tomatoes, as it has been suffering from drought for years, making it harder for farmers to make a profit. The new variety could also be widely applicable to other plants in the future, according to the researchers. The tomato is expected to hit supermarket shelves in the next 2-3 years and will likely be used as a processing tomato in the production of ketchups and sauces. The study’s findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America journal.
