**5. Current overview, challenges and prospects for pest-resistant tomato breeding**

In recent years, major transformations in the breeding scenario for several crops have occurred, and this is currently the new reality [85]. In the last 15 years, science and technology investments have taken place that enable training of human resources in the area of plant biotechnology. Classical breeding is still imperative for the development of new cultivars, but new biotechnology techniques using molecular markers can accelerate the selection process. Regarding tomato pest-resistance, many specific molecular markers have not yet been developed. However, this technique may significantly aid in the selection process. Very useful markers have been developed for the identification of plants with high type IV glandular trichome density and high AA content in populations derived from crossings with *S. galapagense* 'LA1401' [73, 86].

Relevant studies have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) of *S. pennellii* that affect the AA chemistry [64–66, 87–89]. It was observed that some QTL alter the chemotype of AA accumulation in tomato lines descendants of the accession 'LA 716' [87]. It is considered that the addition of QTL that alter AA chemotype in tomato line could provide a means of generating AA with stronger resistance [90].

**Author details**

André Ricardo Zeist1

Wilson Roberto Maluf1

Santa Catarina, Brazil

2011;**2**:47-51

**References**

\*, Alex Antônio da Silva2

, André Gabriel2

\*Address all correspondence to: andre.zeist@bol.com.br

, Juliano Tadeu Vilela de Resende2

, Daniel Suek Zanin3

[1] Geoffrey SK, Hillary NK, Antony KM, Mariam M, Mary MC. Challenges and strategies to improve tomato competitiveness along the tomato value chain in Kenya. International Journal of Business and Management. 2014;**9**(9):205-2012. DOI: 10.5539/ijbm.v9n9p205

[2] Aquino RFBA, Costa RF, Aquino LA, Sá LP. Dinâmica populacional de pragas em tomateiro industrial no norte de Minas Gerais. Evolução e Conservação da Biodiversidade.

[3] Pratissoli D, Lima VLS, Pirovani VD, Lima WL. Occurrence of *Helicoverpa armigera* (Lepidoptera: Noctuidade) on tomato in the Espírito Santo state. Horticultura Brasileira.

[4] Alvarenga MAR. Tomate: produção em campo, em casa de vegetação e em hidroponia.

[5] Baldin ELL, Vendramim JD, Lourenção AL. Resistência de genótipos de tomateiro à mosca-branca Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biótipo B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Neotropical Entomology. 2005;**34**(3):435-441. DOI: 10.1590/S1519-566X200500030001

[6] Silva VF, Maluf WR, Cardoso MG, Gonçalves Neto AC, Maciel GM, Nízio DAC, Silva VA. Resistência mediada por aleloquímicos de genótipos de tomateiro à mosca-branca e

[7] Wyckhuys KAG, Lu Y, Morales H, Vazquez LL, Legaspi JC, Eliopoulos PA, Hernandez LM. Current status and potential of conservation biological control for agriculture in the

[8] Vendramim JD, Nishikawa MAN. Melhoramento para resistência a insetos. In: Nass LL, Valois ACC, Melo IS, Valadares-Inglis MC, editors. Recursos genéticos e melhoramento

ao ácaro-rajado. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira. 2009;**44**(9):1262-1269

2015;**33**:101-105. DOI: 10.1590/S0102-053620150000100016

developing world. Biological Control. 2013;**65**(1):152-167

de plantas. 1st ed. Rondonópolis: Fundação MT; 2001. pp. 737-781

2nd ed. UFLA: Lavras; 2013. 457 p

1 Departament of Agronomy, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil 2 Departament of Agronomy, Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste, Paraná, Brazil

3 Center of Agroveterinary Sciences, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina,

,

39

Tomato Breeding for Insect-Pest Resistance http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.75978

and Edson Perez Guerra2

The two main pest tomato breeding programs in the world are under the leaderships of Martha A. Mutschler and Wilson R. Maluf, respectively.

Dr<sup>a</sup> . Mutschler is a professor in the Department of Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University. The Cornell University tomato breeding program conducts important works in relation to the crossed *S. pennellii* accession 'LA716' with cultivated tomato to then derive tomato breeding lines with resistance to pests AA-mediated. As a result of these works, the benchmark AA breeding line was developed, CU071026, which produces ~15% of the AA levels of 'LA716' but with a different composition [64–66, 69].

Dr. Maluf is a professor at the Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Brazil and a partner at Hortiagro Sementes SA, a company that maintains a mutual cooperation agreement with UFLA in the breeding and production of vegetable seeds research area. Their work resulted in the obtaining of tomato lines with high foliar levels of AA, ZGB and 2-TD and resistant to pests [6, 12, 55].

The pest insect and arachnid breeding study, coordinated by Dr. Maluf, mainly applies colorimetric methodologies developed or adapted for the quantification of allelochemical content in leaflets and the selection of resistant strains, contributing to pest control and minimizing the intensive use of chemical insecticides in tomato crops. Following Dr. Maluf's legacy, Dr. Juliano Tadeu Vilela de Resende, a professor at the Department of Agronomy at the Central-West State University (UNICENTRO), Brazil, has also dedicated himself to improving tomato plants regarding pest resistance.

However, other than the research conducted by the Cornell University, UFLA and UNICENTRO research groups, few researchers have developed breeding aimed at obtaining new pest-resistant tomato cultivars. Considering these aspects, it is necessary to stimulate agronomy students to follow the career of the classic tomato pest-breeding, thus avoiding the extinction of committed professionals in this line of research, in a not so distant future.
