美国西部的番茄病害中,最严重的卷顶病毒病极大地妨碍了西部大多数地区的番茄商品生产。50年来育种者试图培育抗卷顶病番茄,但进展缓慢。为了寻找更好的遗传性较不复杂的抗性,美国农业部科学教育局植物病理学家P.E.托马斯试验了来自南美洲的成千种野生番茄。他发现,有少数几种番茄虽受病霉浸染却完全不感病。 Of the tomato diseases in the western United States, the most serious capsid virus disease has hampered the production of tomato products in most parts of the west. Breeders have been trying to cultivate the anti-spike tomato for 50 years, but the progress has been slow. In an effort to find better hereditary less complex resistance, P. E. Thomas, a plant pathologist at the USDA’s Bureau of Science and Education, tested thousands of wild tomatoes from South America. He found that a handful of tomatoes, though contaminated by the pathogen, did not show any signs of illness.