TomSPOT Coordinated Agriculture Project

Our Objectives

Objective 1: Xanthomonas Bio-surveillance

Evaluate the role of external inoculum sources on BST outbreaks. Affordable, rapid sequence-based diagnostic pipeline to trace bacteria to their source, providing actionable information to industry.

Objective 2: Tomato Breeding and Genomics

Use genomics-assisted breeding to advance resistant tomato varieties. Stacking BST resistance to advance into the fresh market and processing tomato lines.

Objective 3: Xanthomonas Small Molecules and Nanoparticles

Improve the efficacy of small molecules and nanoparticles to manage Xanthomonas at the seed and seedling stages. Modifying and formulating previously developed bactericides to enhance bioactivity against Xanthomonas on seed and seedlings in trials, measure phytotoxicity, and standardize application rates.

Objective 4: Decision Support System

Develop a regional Decision Support System (DSS) to guide the adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to limit BST throughout the production chain. Using epidemiological parameters, estimated efficacy of BMPs, and surveyed socioeconomic factors to identify the most impactful disease management strategies for regional epidemic management, supporting targeted efforts for efficient extension, breeding, and research.

Objective 5: Resource Toolkit and Outreach

Develop the TomSPOT website to improve outreach. Consolidate research outputs, including diagnostic protocols, strain sequences, DSS models, and BMPs for BST into a web-based, decision support toolbox for stakeholders.

Our Team

TomSPOT provides actionable information to the tomato industry for BST and develops resources that can be expanded for other tomato bacterial diseases and adapted to other high-value specialty crops.