Our Varieties Proven Success

BonTom’s full-line varieties include some of the most recognized names in the tomato industry:

Long Shelf-Life Tomatoes - Daniela and other greenhouse hybrids - Through its breeding activities in conjunction with seed companies throughout the world, BonTom has developed a great number of breeding-lines with extended shelf-life, and has produced hundreds of hybrid varieties with improved shelf-life, yield, and quality, thereby revolutionizing the fresh market industry, both indoors and in open fields. The Daniela variety is only one example of the novel developments from BonTom. Its genetic make-up combines a ripening inhibitor gene with some selected polygenes for firmness and slow ripening, together with other genes generating high yields of large, quality fruit. Since its initial release, Daniela was further improved and the number of built-in pest and disease resistances was greatly extended. More than 15 years after its first release, Daniela and related cultivars are considered today to be among the world’s leading greenhouse varieties. In Europe, they have b ecome an industry standard.

Upgrading the status of Cherry Tomatoes in the world market – Many modern cherry tomatoes are based on the BonTom cultivar, R-139, which excels in both yield and flavor. Combining genes for high sugar and acid content with those for extended shelf-life, this variety made its debut in the early 1990s, and was immediately accepted by consumers. In cooperation with Mr. Goldenberg, the former Chief Technologist of Marks & Spencer, BonTom addressed the complaint regarding the softness and poor shelf-life of the few cherry varieties that were available at that time. Since then, cherry tomatoes became the preferred choice of many consumers worldwide, and new and improved cherry cultivars from BonTom, such as Shiren, are favored by growers and consumers alike.

Improved Flavor – Consumers all over the world complain about lack of flavor in modern tomato varieties. To solve this problem, BonTom researched the effects of sugar, acid and aroma compounds in the presence of ripening inhibitor genes on fruit flavor. BonTom’s early studies resulted in a number of F 1 hybrids with improved flavor. However, the increased sugar content in the fruit coincided with somewhat reduced yields. Today’s breeding projects of flavor-improved genotypes combines the increase in selected tomato flavor compounds with improved shelf-life and good flavor in medium sized tomatoes for clusters or single fruit.

Cluster Tomatoes (Truss Tomatoes) –Cluster tomatoes only became feasible after BonTom’s introduction of genes for extended shelf-life. Cluster tomatoes are now common in Europe, USA, Canada, Japan and Israel, and wherever tomatoes are grown for export to these markets. The product is highly favored by consumers due to the better quality of the fruit. In Europe, cluster tomatoes account for about 30% of greenhouse production area. The idea for the new cluster tomato was jointly developed by BonTom and Hazera Genetics.

TYLCV Resistant Tomatoes – Resistance is based on the introduction of genes from wild tomato species. BonTom succeeded in introducing these genes into high quality tomato varieties, and several of them are now grown commercially in Europe, Central America, Israel and Egypt.TYLCV is one of the most important problems world wide . Our breeding projects for TY-resistance are continued .

Semi-Determinate Tomatoes for the American Market – BonTom’s varieties are produced in Mexico and exported to the USA. These varieties are well-adapted to outdoor production, and combine long shelf-life with good flavor, large fruit size, high yield, and disease resistance.

Shelf-Life – Addressing the problem of the short shelf life of tomatoes’ and the considerable consequent economic losses, BonTom has developed a range of tomato F 1 hybrids with extended fruit shelf-life. Following a series of basic studies, the problem was solved by incorporating one or more special genetic factors into commercial varieties. About 50 F 1 hybrids developed under this program are successfully being grown worldwide.