Tomato Organic Management and Improvement Project (TOMI) Part II
Project Director
Lori Hoagland
Year Funded
2019
Award Number
2019-51300-30245
Funded Institution
Purdue University
Grant Program
OREI (Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative)
USDA NIFA Report (alternate)
Project Overview
Multiple foliar and soilborne pathogens threaten organic tomato production. The TOMI II project tackled this challenge with a threefold strategy:
(1) Identify factors modulating disease suppressiveness of soils and survival of biological disease-control products, including organic amendments and root exudates.
(2) Identify heritable traits for induced systemic resistance (ISR) in tomato and integrate selection for ISR into the organic tomato breeding program.
(3) Develop improved tomato cultivars with enhanced resistance to multiple diseases, excellent flavor, and high yields.
Farmer Takeaways
(1) Tomatoes are subject to many fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases, yet beneficial soil microbes and certain crop genetic traits can protect against multiple pathogens.
(2) Healthy soils host microbes that induce systemic resistance (ISR) in responsive tomato cultivars that can protect against foliar blights as well as soilborne diseases.
(3) Tomato disease IPM including soil amendments, bio-fungicides, other NOP-allowed fungicides, and varietal resistance can significantly reduce crop losses to pathogens.
(4) Tomato Organic Management and Improvement (TOMI) will continue research and farmer-participatory breeding to develop new cultivars with improved disease resistance through 2028.
Project Outputs
Tomato Organic Management and Improvement Project (TOMI) Homepage
McKenzie, L. & Zystro, J. 2021. “Tomato Seed Production Guide.” Organic Seed Alliance.
Luis, J. M., Jaiswal, A. K., Mengiste, T. D., Myers, J. R., & Hoagland, L. A. 2025. “Deciphering the Mechanisms Regulating Variability in Induced Systemic Resistance Among Tomato Genotypes.” Phytopathology®, 115(7), 771–782.
Richardville, K., Egel, D., Flachs, A., Jaiswal, A., Perkins, D., Thompson, A., & Hoagland, L. 2022. “Leaf mold compost reduces waste, improves soil and microbial properties, and increases tomato productivity.” Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems, 7(1), e20022.
Jaiswal, A. K., Mengiste, T. D., Myers, J. R., Egel, D. S., & Hoagland, L. A. 2020. “Tomato Domestication Attenuated Responsiveness to a Beneficial Soil Microbe for Plant Growth Promotion and Induction of Systemic Resistance to Foliar Pathogens.” Frontiers in Microbiology, 11.
Egel, D. S., Hoagland, L., Davis, J., Marchino, C., & Bloomquist, M. 2019. “Efficacy of organic disease control products on common foliar diseases of tomato in field and greenhouse trials.” Crop Protection, 122, 90–97.