Brazil hosts the VII International Symposium on Tomato Diseases

Studies conducted by specialists from Embrapa Hortaliças on tomato crops will be presented at the VII International Symposium on Tomato Diseases, which will take place from October 1 to 4 in Brasília (DF). The event is considered the main scientific space for the exchange of knowledge and the dissemination of research related to tomato crops for industrial and table processing. The full program of the event, which will feature the participation of scholars who are references in the subject, is available here. 

The VII ISTD (acronym in English) has the presence of researchers from Embrapa Hortaliças, Universidade Federal de Viçosa and Instituto Federal de Goiás/Campus Morrinhos on the organizing committee. The event, which is organized by the International Society of Horticultural Sciences (ISHS) and has the support of the Brazilian Society of Phytopathology (SBF), is expected to receive around 80 participants, including specialists, students and professionals in the area.

For researcher Alice Nagata, who is part of the organizing committee, hosting the event represents an opportunity to bring together in Brazil the world's leading experts on tomato diseases and offer a space for interaction, information exchange, collaborative work and a lot of learning.

The event will feature lectures and presentations of papers in oral and poster format. In order to encourage studies among young researchers, Young Minds awards will be given to junior scientists in the categories: best oral presentation and best poster presentation.

Bacterial spot: Embrapa Hortaliças is located near Goiás, which is the largest producer of tomatoes for industrial processing, responsible for 70% of the national production, followed by São Paulo and Northern Minas Gerais. These states also contain the country's main tomato processing industries. This proximity facilitates research into tomato crops, enabling closer ties with the entire production chain. This is the case of studies on bacterial spot, which is one of the most common diseases in tomato crops for industrial processing grown in a central pivot system.

Since 1997, the disease has been observed in the main tomato production centers in this segment. Over the past 20 years, Embrapa Hortaliças researcher Alice Quezado has dedicated herself to studying the disease, from identifying the species that cause the problem to the forms of its appearance and spread. “The work involves public education institutions, producers, processing industries and nurseries that have contributed to generating knowledge about the measures that must be taken to stop or minimize the impact of the disease,” explains Quezado, who will give the lecture "Approaches to facing bacterial spot on processing tomatoes in Brazil" on the second day of the event.

Oral presentations: The results of three other research projects developed by experts from Embrapa Hortaliças will be presented in the oral sessions.Chitosan nanocapsules can successfully protect tomato plants against tomato mosaic virus infection in a dose-dependent manner" is the theme of the work coordinated by researcher Alice Nagata in partnership with Embrapa Hortaliças analyst Erich Nakasu and specialists Jonas Vargas and Odilio Assis. The study demonstrated that chitosan/TTP nanocapsules effectively induce protection in tomato plants against infection by the tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), while promoting plant growth.

Nagata is also responsible for the research that resulted in the work “Understanding the epidemic of Golden Mosaic Disease under high whitefly pressure on begomovirus-susceptible tomato plants cultivated for processing” that will be presented at the Symposium. The work consists of an epidemiological study carried out in three tomato crops for industrial processing irrigated by central pivots, in Goiás, with the objective of evaluating the incidence, dispersion and potential sources of Tomato Severe Rugoso Virus, the main begomovirus of tomato in Brazil. The study highlights the importance of managing whitefly populations and virus sources in the agricultural landscape.

Researcher Valdir Lourenço Júnior is the first author of the work “Survival of Septoria lycopersici on seeds and tomato debris" which has the participation of other researchers from Embrapa Hortaliças. The study consists of evaluating the survival of the fungus Septoria lycopersici in tomato seeds and remains. The fungus causes septoria leaf spot, a disease that occurs in almost all producing regions of Brazil and the world during the rainy season. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse and under field conditions. It was found that it can survive for up to 60 days in tomato remains on the surface or buried in the soil. The study did not provide evidence that the fungus can infect or survive in tomato seeds.