Tomato plants can be prone to a bunch of unimaginable problems or diseases capable of taking a toll on the entire crop. The good news is that you can avoid the various problems or diseases that tomato plants tend to be susceptible to. This is why we will be looking into disease resistant tomatoes.
There are over 60 different diseases tomato plants are inclined to catch. With so many unpleasant diseases tomatoes tend to be prone to, it is only right you select the best varieties that can be resistant to most of these various tomato-related diseases.
Diseases-resistant tomatoes have been selected and bred for years to resist some common diseases they tend to be vulnerable to. So, let’s look into the list of disease-resistant tomatoes we can go for when planning on growing our juicy tomatoes.
Selecting Disease Resistant Tomatoes
Even though you can take some measures to manage these diseases such as crop rotations, drip irrigation, sterilization of garden tools, and so on, all these will only control these issues to a limited range. The key to decreasing the issue of tomato disease relies mainly on choosing disease-resistant tomatoes.
The selection of disease-resistant tomatoes has helped a lot in reducing the risk of tomatoes being vulnerable to different diseases. However, this does not guarantee the total immunity of tomatoes to all kinds of diseases. Of all these diseases resistant varieties, no single tomato variety resistant to all diseases has been developed yet. For this reason, when choosing tomato disease-resistant varieties, we recommend you select the ones applicable to your garden.
For instance, a particular tomato breed may thrive or flourish in your garden. On the other hand, this same tomato variety may end up catching a tomato-related disease from another gardener two states away. Therefore, if verticillium wilt or tobacco mosaic virus was once a problem in your garden region in the past years, it is only ideal to choose the tomato variety resistant to this disease.
Disease Resistant Tomatoes
Each variety of tomato resistance is mainly resistant to some or most tomato diseases. However, they aren’t resistant to all types of tomato-related diseases.
When you purchase your disease-resistant tomato seeds varieties, the seed packets or seed labeling often has some abbreviations. These abbreviations or letters mark the disease-resistant variety for that specific tomato breed. Therefore, it’s important to read these abbreviations right so you can know which varieties you are purchasing.
Understanding codes for disease resistant tomatoes
Here is a list of some of the most common disease-resistant tomato variety codes you may find and their meaning:
- AB – Alternarium Blight
- EB – Early Blight
- F – Fusarium wilt
- FF – Fusarium races 1 and 2
- FFF – Fusarium races 1, 2, and 3
- N – Nematode
- PM – Powdery Mildew
- T or TMV –Tobacco Mosaic Virus
- TSWV – Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
- V – Verticillium wilt
Burpee ‘Mountain Magic’ Hybrid | Red Cocktail & Salad Tomato | Disease Resistant | 12 Seeds
Apart from these codes, other codes such as HR or IR may as well be written next to the codes. HR means High Resistance and IR means Intermediate Resistance.
Multiple letters seen in a tomato disease-resistant variety name means the tomato is resistant to more than one disease.
- So now that we have an idea of some codes you may come across, let’s look at an example. If you come across a seed labeled VFNT, it simply means that the seed has been bred to resist verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, nematode, and tobacco mosaic virus.
In all this, keep in mind that the label you find on the seed package is simply an indicator. The performance of a specific tomato variety will depend on various factors such as rainfall,
Choosing the Right Tomato Breed for Your Garden
A type of tomato variety may thrive well in your garden and this same variety may not do well for someone else in another state.
This is majorly due to different climates and different soil that produce different patterns for the same tomato variety. Even those regions with slight variations in climate (temperature, rainfall, and air quality) can still cause the same tomato variety to flourish differently for different regions.
For instance, Septoria leaf spot and early blight are tomato-related diseases that tend to progress or thrive in humid regions such as the eastern United States. Therefore, if you live in these regions, it would be wise to select tomato varieties that are resistant to early blight and Septoria leaf spots.
Guidelines for Choosing Tomato Breed
The guidelines below will assist you further on how to find out and select which tomato variety best suits your region:
- Recognize the vulnerability your region tends to face – The first important step is to discern which tomato diseases are common in your region. You can do some findings by asking your local nursery owner or having a chat with your local gardeners. You can also put a call through to your local extension office to know which tomato diseases are frequently recorded by local gardeners.
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Understand resistant code on the seed package – It’s also important you learn what codes are written on the seed package. We’ve given you some tips above to understand codes you may find on the seed package.
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Choose the best that suits your region – At the end of it all, ensure you choose the best tomato variety that suits your region.
Which Tomato Breed is the Hardiest?
Here is a list of some of the best tomato varieties resistant you can go for:
- Bush big boy
- Bush early girl
- Sweet tangerine
- Fourth of July
- Big beef
- Celebrity
- Umamin
- Super tasty
- Big daddy
- Summer girl
All of these varieties will resist the most common tomato diseases. That includes nematode, verticillium, fusarium, and tobacco mosaic virus.
Additional Say on Disease Resistant Tomatoes
Knowing a great list of tomato-resistant varieties isn’t just enough. Even after you’ve purchased a hardy tomato breed that can sufficiently avoid these diseases, you need to also imbibe some measures so your plant can flourish.
Here are some preventive measures to take:
- Crop rotation.
- If you’ve worked on any diseased plant, ensure you disinfect your gardening tools.
- Water at the base of the plant.
- Maintain moisture conditions and avoid wet and humid conditions that may entertain diseases.
- Mulch your
soil .
Tomato Seeds Resistant to Blight
Before we look at varieties that are resistant to blight, we must first identify what blight is. You may know blight better as late blight, tomato blight, or potato blight. It unfortunately can cause catastrophic problems for your tomatoes. It’s a fungal disease that will quickly lead tomatoes to rot and die. The more humid the environment, the more likely this is to happen.
Some of the most common seeds resistant to blight are as follows:
- Blush beefsteak F1. It’s sweet and juicy, which is unusual for a beefsteak tomato. This tomato usually fruits between July and October, and the best thing about it is that it’s incredibly resistant to blight.
- Crimson cherry F1. A sweet but tangy tomato that’s small in size. It’s best at preventing late and early blight. It has an outstanding yield and will continue to fruit until the first frost begins.
- Crimson plum F1. If you’re looking to make an incredible Bolognese or ragu, this is the tomato choice for you. It doesn’t contain many seeds and has a rich flavor. This tomato usually fruits between July and October.
- Crimson crush F1. Flavorful and fantastic tasting. Even if other plants have blight, the Crimson Crush is hardy enough to not be affected.
Fusarium Wilt Resistant Tomato Varieties
If you’re looking for tomato varieties that are resistant to fusarium wilt, then look no further! You should try one of the following options:
- Porterhouse
- Sungold
- Yellow Pear
- Big Daddy
- Rutgers
- Summer Girl
- Super Sauce
Bacterial Wilt Resistant Tomato Varieties
If you’re looking for tomato varieties that are resistant to bacterial wilt, then look no further! You should try one of the following options:
- Tropic Bay
- Venus
- Neptune
- Saturn
- Kewalo
Disease Resistant Heirloom Tomatoes
If you’re looking for heirloom tomato varieties that are disease resistant, there are many to choose from. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best.
- Cherokee Purple: resistant to bacterial speck, fusarium wilt 1, 2, and 3, tomato spotted wilt virus, verticillium wilt, and root-knot nematode
- Black Velvet F1: disorder resistant
- Caiman F1: resistant to fusarium wilt 1 and 2, tobacco mosaic virus, verticillium wilt, tomato spotted wilt virus, tomato leaf mold, and root-knot nematode
- Fargo Yellow Pear: disorder resistant
- Delicious: disorder resistant
- Damsel F1: resistant to root-knot nematode, late blight, and verticillium wilt
- Aosta Valley: resistant to early and late blight
- Green Zebra: resistant to Septoria leaf spot and late blight
- Legend: resistant to late blight
- Chocolate Sprinkles: resistant to fusarium wilt 1, fusarium crown rot, tobacco mosaic virus, and root-knot nematode
- Garden Peach: resistant to late blight
- Cauralina F1: resistant to fusarium wilt, fusarium crown root, and tomato mosaic virus
- Italian Heirloom: resistant to late blight
- Marglobe: resistant to fusarium wilt 1 and 2
- Chiapas: resistant to early and late blight, and Septoria leaf spot
- Mt. Gold: resistant to fusarium wilt 1 and 2
- Grandma’s Pick F1: resistant to verticillium wilt, root-knot nematode, and fusarium wilt 1
- New Yorker: resistant to verticillium wilt
- Mt. Rouge: resistant to root-knot nematode and late blight
- Marbonne F1: resistant to tomato mosaic virus and fusarium wilt
Conclusion
I hope this post has helped you to identify the best disease-resistant tomatoes, as well as how best to find the right variety for you. It’s getting easier and easier to grow disease-resistant tomatoes; just be sure to check the abbreviations on any tomato seeds that you buy. Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to disease-resistant tomatoes? If so, please feel free to let us know in the comments below. And remember, sharing is caring!
FAQs
Which tomato variety is resistant to blight?
Mountain Magic F1 (Medium) is resistant to blight.
If you see symptoms of bacterial blight on your tomato plants, remove them by cutting the stems at the base of the plant. Make sure to wash your hands after removing the infected parts so you don't spread the bacteria around. If you see the bacteria on the leaves, you can spray them with a mixture of water and bleach to kill the bacteria.
Which tomato variety is resistant to bacterial wilt?
The best known varieties are "Green Zebras" and "Roma". There are also a number of hybrids that have been bred for this resistance.
If you see any signs of Verticillium wilt, you should remove the plants from the soil as soon as possible to prevent further damage. If you are unable to remove the plants from the ground, you can treat the soil with a fungicide such as copper or sulfur to prevent the disease from spreading.
Are cherry tomatoes disease resistant?
Cherry tomatoes are a great choice for any gardener looking to add a little variety to their vegetable garden. Liike most other types of tomatoes, cherry tomatoes are susceptible to various diseases.
However, they are resistant to a wide variety of diseases, and in some cases the resistance is due to the plant's own immune system.
Are heirloom tomatoes disease-resistant?
Heirloom tomatoes are not resistant to the major diseases that affect tomato crops, but they can be used as a food source when combined with other plants and insects that provide natural pest control. The best way to prevent diseases is by growing tomatoes in a healthy garden environment that includes annuals and perennials, mulching, regular watering and harvesting regularly.
How do you know if bacteria is wilting of tomatoes?
The first thing to check is whether or not the plant has any signs of disease.
There are a number of ways to tell. One of the most reliable is the color of the tomato. If it's dark green, it's probably ok. If it's light green, it may be starting to decay. If it's yellow or brown, it's most likely too far gone. Another way is to press your thumb on the stem of the tomato and see how it feels. If it's waxy, it's ok. If it's dry and hard, it's dead.
You can look at the underside of the leaves. If the leaves have turned yellow, this is a sign of bacterial wilt.
What is the hardiest tomato plant?
A tomato plant can be grown in almost any location, but it’s important to choose a site that offers the proper amount of sunlight. Tomatoes are a warm-weather crop, so they need lots of sun. They also like plenty of water, so make sure that you water regularly and give the leaves a good soaking once or twice a week. If you have a big enough garden space, tomatoes are the perfect addition to any vegetable garden.
There are many varieties of tomatoes, and many are very different in hardiness. We have found that the most hardy tomato is
Eunice is an enthusiastic gardener with a passion for growing beautiful flowers. She loves nothing more than spending time in her garden, tending to her plants and enjoying the outdoors. Eunice has been gardening for over 15 years and has developed a unique style of landscaping that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing. She is especially fond of growing roses and enjoys experimenting with different varieties and colors. Eunice takes great pride in her garden and often shares the fruits of her labor with friends and family. In her spare time, she enjoys reading gardening magazines and attending local horticulture events. Eunice is passionate about her hobby and is always eager to share her knowledge and experience with others.
