Ryan P Ford
Late blight (LB), caused by Phytophthora infestans, is a destructive disease of tomato in PA. Experimental hybrids were developed from PSU elite tomato breeding lines with superior horticultural characteristics for production in PA, containing a combination of the commercially-available LB-resistance gene Ph-3 and a new LB-resistance gene Ph-5, identified at Penn State. Molecular marker genotyping and disease screening of the hybrids demonstrated successful incorporation of both resistance genes, and the advantage of hybrids containing both.