Tobacco Mosaic Virus
- Issue type
- disease
- Seedborne
- Yes, travels on seed
- Resistance code
- T, TMV, Tm-2, L1, L2, L3, L4
Symptoms
Light-and-dark green mosaic mottling with distorted, fern-like young leaves and reduced set; symptoms sharpen in cool cloudy weather. Spread mechanically, hands, tools, and stakes, with brutal efficiency, and can ride on seed.
Management
Resistance is standard and highly durable in tomato, where Tm-2² (printed as T or TMV) is carried by most greenhouse and many field hybrids. Pepper answers the same group of viruses with an entirely different and nested system, the L alleles L1 through L4, each covering one more tobamovirus pathotype than the last; a pepper catalog printing a bare TMV does not say which. Sanitation carries the rest in both crops: wash hands, disinfect tools and stakes, and exclude tobacco products from work areas. Certified virus-indexed seed matters because the virus survives on the seed coat.
Varieties with documented resistance
| Variety | Level | Code | Basis | Days | Breeding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celebrity | resistant | T | Breeder declared | 70-72 | F1 hybrid |
| Big Beef | resistant | T | Breeder declared | 70-73 | F1 hybrid |
| Sun Gold | resistant | T | Breeder declared | 57-65 | F1 hybrid |
| SunSugar | resistant | T | Breeder declared | 60-62 | F1 hybrid |
| Granadero | resistant | T | Breeder declared | 70-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Sweet Million | resistant | T | Breeder declared | 60-65 | F1 hybrid |
| Tropic | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 80-85 | open-pollinated |
| Damsel | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Marnero | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 75-80 | F1 hybrid |
| Rebelski | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 75-80 | F1 hybrid |
| Geronimo | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 75-80 | F1 hybrid |
| Golden Rave | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Sweet Chelsea | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 65-70 | F1 hybrid |
| Favorita | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 60-65 | F1 hybrid |
| Park's Whopper | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 65-70 | F1 hybrid |
| Champion | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 62-70 | F1 hybrid |
| Esterina | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 65-70 | F1 hybrid |
| Toronjina | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 65-70 | F1 hybrid |
| Apero | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 65-70 | F1 hybrid |
| Sakura | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 60-65 | F1 hybrid |
| Pozzano | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-80 | F1 hybrid |
| Estiva | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Bigdena | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 75-80 | F1 hybrid |
| Cobra | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-78 | F1 hybrid |
| Beorange | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 75-82 | F1 hybrid |
| California Wonder | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-75 | open-pollinated |
| King Arthur | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 68-72 | F1 hybrid |
| Chocolate Beauty | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 75-85 | F1 hybrid |
| Golden California Wonder | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 72-78 | open-pollinated |
| Gypsy | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 60-65 | F1 hybrid |
| Yolo Wonder | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-80 | open-pollinated |
| Keystone Resistant Giant | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 72-80 | open-pollinated |
| Big Bertha | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Jupiter | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-78 | open-pollinated |
| Blushing Beauty | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 65-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Red Knight | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 57-75 | F1 hybrid |
| Giant Marconi | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 70-80 | F1 hybrid |
| Archimedes | resistant | TMV | Breeder declared | 60-80 | F1 hybrid |
This is the page where the difference matters most, because it is where a variety gets chosen for its resistance. Breeder declared means the claim comes from whoever breeds or sells the seed, which for most resistance genes is the only evidence that exists. Independently observed means an institution with no stake in the sale grew the plant and reported what happened.
Sources & References
Evidence: 2 sources, all independent references.
- Vegetable MD Online · Cornell University, Plant Pathology, University or Government
- Overview of Biotic Stresses in Pepper (Capsicum spp.): Sources of Genetic Resistance, Molecular Breeding and Genomics · International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2020), Peer-Reviewed