The goal of this project is to breed disease-resistant heirloom-quality tomatoes, particularly those resistant to late blight and various other diseases. Ten premier heirloom tomato varieties—red, pink, black, orange, and paste types—have already been crossed with the hybrid ‘Iron Lady,’ known for its resistance to late blight and other relevant diseases. From these ten crosses, second-generation (F2) populations have been developed. Marker-assisted selection will be used to identify the disease resistance genes in each transplant before they are planted in the field. This process involves taking a leaf sample from each transplant and sending it to a lab for genetic analysis. This approach enables the planting of only those transplants that carry the desired disease resistance genes.

In the field, plants will be evaluated based on characteristics such as form, vigor, maturity, fruit color, shape, and flavor. Several seed lots will be created from each cross, which will be widely distributed to assist organic farmers and gardeners in developing heirloom-quality tomato varieties resistant to contemporary diseases. Many of these seed lots will already be pure-breeding for late blight resistance, allowing breeders working with them to avoid the need to select for this trait, which may or may not be present in their fields each year.