Tomato spotted wilt virus and capsicum chlorosis virus belong to a group known as ‘tospoviruses’, which cause significant crop damage in the largest capsicum production areas of Queensland, with typical annual crop losses of $15 million.

In South Australia, tomato spotted wilt virus is responsible for major losses in the protected cropping industry.

The effect of tospovirus on capsicums is profound. To a consumer’s eye, the virus distorts the shape of the fruit as well as scarring its skin and reducing its size, which ultimately reduces marketable yield.

As part of the Hort Innovation-funded project, Capsicum breeding for tospo virus resistance (VG02035), Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries experts were able to identify genetic resistance to tospovirus in bell capsicums.

This led to the Hort Innovation-funded project, Breeding Capsicum for Tospovirus Resistance (VG10081), which allowed Syngenta Seeds to join as co-investors and offer its breeding material to the project.

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