title: Establishment of an in vitro method for evaluating whitefly resistance in tomato.
abstract: An accurate and simple evaluation method is crucial for identifying whitefly resistance in tomato breeding. We developed an in vitro method for evaluating resistance of tomato leaves and tested this on wild and cultivated tomato varieties. We found that young leaves observed for whitefly oviposition after 8 hours provided appropriate comparative conditions. This method effectively distinguished resistance among tomato cultivars and wild species and also demonstrated significant difference in oviposition rates among leaf positions on susceptible cultivars. The in vitro test was as precise as in vivo test using intact plants and had advantages over in vivo test, and can be used for evaluating resistance in large populations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , Beijing 100081 , China.
authors.forename: Guangjun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jianchang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Xiaoxuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yanmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Yongchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
keywords: Bemisia tabaci; Solanum habrochaites; Solanum lycopersicum; breeding; phenotypic testing; tomato resistance