Brazilian Tomato Genetics Research Destroyed by Storm in Ribeirão Preto

Heavy rain, strong winds and hail on July 24 in the north of São Paulo state devastated a field experiment on tomato genetics conducted by the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC) in Ribeirão Preto. The trial, less than a month from completion, involved about 300 accessions of wild and hybrid tomato varieties and was carried out in partnership with a Japanese seed company to identify valuable genetic traits and renew IAC's seed bank.

Researcher Roberto Blanco reported that all plants and the foliage used for genetic analysis were destroyed, and the experimental facilities were left without power and partially roofless. Seeds produced in the first phase of the project remain stored in a cold chamber and will be moved to IAC's headquarters in Campinas. A greenhouse housing a collection of pepper seeds also suffered partial damage. The incident highlights growing concerns about extreme weather events threatening agricultural research infrastructure, a point previously raised by the Associação dos Pesquisadores Científicos do Estado de São Paulo.