Juicy Genomics

When Pulitzer Prize and Grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar rapped “I got millions, I got riches buildin’ in my DNA,” he almost certainly wasn’t talking about the humble tomato. But a new study unveiling more than 230,000 DNA differences across 100 tomato varieties which will allow breeders and scientists to engineer larger, juicier, more profitable plants, proves that tomatoes indeed have riches buildin’ in their DNA, too.

Rutgers Creates ‘Scarlet Sunrise’ Bicolor Grape Tomato

New Brunswick, N.J. (March 3, 2020) – A Rutgers University–New Brunswick tomato breeding team known for developing the ‘Rutgers 250’ tomato has created ‘Scarlet Sunrise,’ a unique and flavorful bicolor grape tomato. The team at Rutgers’ New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station…

Wild tomatoes resist devastating bacterial canker

Many tomato growers are familiar with the scourge of bacterial canker – the wilted leaves and blistered fruit that can spoil an entire season’s planting. For those whose livelihoods depend on tomatoes, this pathogen – Clavibacter michiganensis – is economically devastating. In a new paper, Cornell University researchers showed that wild tomato varieties are less affected by bacterial canker than traditionally cultivated varieties.