EU-funded VIRTIGATION project delivers new tools and strategies to protect tomatoes and cucurbits from viral diseases
30 November 2025 – The EU-funded VIRTIGATION project has concluded after 4,5 years of intensive research and international collaboration. With a focus on Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and the Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV), VIRTIGATION developed and demonstrated new tools and strategies to protect tomatoes and cucurbits from these fast-spreading emerging viral diseases in Europe and globally.
Coordinated by the Department of Biosystems at the KU Leuven University in Belgium, VIRTIGATION brought together 25 renowned universities, industries, research & technology organizations, agricultural extension services and SMEs across the world, united in their mission to design new solutions to safeguard tomatoes and cucurbits from ToBRFV and ToLCNDV.
New genomic surveillance tools unveil virus diversity, evolution and spread
VIRTIGATION has produced new sequencing tools and online monitoring platforms to identify and monitor virus diversity, evolution and spread. A novel rapid-response pipeline, based on the Genome Detective bioinformatics platform and Nanopore sequencing technology, has improved the profiling of emerging viruses ToBRFV and ToLCNDV, as well as Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). The platform also enables in-depth analysis of other plant viruses which could emerge in the coming years in other crop systems.
With this pipeline, plant health researchers, authorities, extension services and the horticultural industry can visualise virus evolution, annotate outbreaks with metadata, and identify potential transmission links. The new genomic surveillance tools provided by VIRTIGATION further revealed key factors driving virus emergence, including weed reservoirs, mixed viral infections and adaptive viral mutations in resistant cultivars.
Improved understanding of plant–virus–vector interactions support development of resistant crops
The project delivered new insights into genetic resistance, whitefly biology, and plant-virus-vector interactions, thereby contributing to the development of novel ToBRFV- and ToLCNDV-resistant tomato and cucurbit varieties. In particular, the creation and screening of nearly-isogenic tomato lines (NILs) carrying different combinations of TYLCV-resistance genes, provide future opportunities for breeding companies to develop new resistant plant varieties. The project also identified symptomless wild tomato accessions with reduced ToBRFV concentrations and demonstrated that Tm-1 alleles from the wild species Solanum pennellii contribute to ToBRFV resistance. The Tm-1 allele from Solanum pennellii accessions, together with an additional, likely recessive, locus, were found to be required for complete ToBRFV resistance. VIRTIGATION also demonstrated that ToLCNDV does not replicate in whitefly salivary glands, thus clarifying biological bottlenecks in virus transmission.
Climate change effects on whiteflies
Through modelling of future climate change scenarios, project researchers could assess how warming temperatures may alter the epidemiology of whitefly-transmitted viruses. Whitefly-parasitoids will benefit of a faster development but reduced survival, meaning that biological control may remain effective only if management is adapted. The vector-transmission capability under future climate is still under investigation. VIRTIGATION scientists demonstrated that invasive weeds such as Solanumelaeagnifolium and Solanum rostratum function as important ToBRFV virus reservoirs.
Analysis of mixed viral infections as ToLCNDV with Watermelon mosaic Virus conducted by VIRTIGATION showed more severe symptoms in affected cucurbit plants. For mixed infections of ToBRFV and PepMV, important differences between mild and aggressive PepMV isolates were seen, with more severe symptoms in case of mixed infection of ToBRFV and aggressive PepMV isolates.
These project findings underscore the need for more climate-adapted Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies and proactive weed management by growers.
New integrated pest management (IPM) strategies validated in greenhouse and field trials
VIRTIGATION IPM greenhouse and field trials conducted throughout the project lifetime have translated into practical, environmentally-friendly ToBRFV and ToLCNDV management options for growers. Trials involving biopesticide formulations from natural plant extracts resulted in reductions of whitefly populations of up to 50–73% under high-pressure conditions. IPM trials combining botanical extracts, biopesticides and targeted synthetic pesticides demonstrated improved long-term whitefly control with reduced application of synthetic pesticides, compared with single interventions. Additionally, VIRTIGATION improved existing ToBRFV eradication methods with refined protocols, such as steaming for soil substrate disinfection.
Resistant cucurbit genotypes against ToLCNDV and whiteflies were assessed in semi-field trials, revealing several resistant accessions suitable for uptake by breeding companies in breeding programmes. Finally, project researchers identified ToBRFV-resistant rootstocks capable of reducing root-mediated infections and limiting fruit-cluster symptoms in tomato crops.
VIRTIGATION results provide new solutions for European growers
The VIRTIGATION Coordinator, Hervé Vanderschuren, Professor of Tropical Horticulture at the Department of Biosystems of KU Leuven University, summarises the achievements of the project:
“Emerging viral diseases such as ToBRFV and ToLCNDV have undermined the sustainability of our food production systems, as they have caused important losses to tomato and cucurbit crops. Through the new tools and strategies developed and demonstrated in the VIRTIGATION project, we have contributed to increasing the knowledge and capacities of the value chain to implement sustainable solutions for virus mitigation. The multidisciplinary toolkit produced by the VIRTIGATION consortium provide new solutions to European growers to reduce the impact of emerging viral diseases on their tomato and cucurbit crops”.
The VIRTIGATION project
The VIRTIGATION project, titled “Emerging viral diseases in tomatoes and cucurbits: implementation of mitigation strategies for durable disease management”, operated under the EU Horizon 2020 program to address new and emerging risks to plant health, thus contributing to food security.
The VIRTIGATION consortium
KU Leuven (Belgium), DCM NV (Belgium), Fundacion para las tecnologias auxiliares de la agricultura (Spain), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (Luxembourg), University of Greenwich (United Kingdom), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (Spain), Centre de recerca en agrigenomica CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB (Spain), Università degli studi di Catania (Italy), Wageningen University (Netherlands), Stichting Wageningen Research (Netherlands), Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (France), EMWEB (Belgium), The Agricultural Research Organisation of Israel – The Volcani Centre (Israel), Proefcentrum Hoogstraten (Belgium), Association Provençale de recherche et d’experimentation legumiere (France), Julius Kuhn-Institut Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen (Germany), Syngenta France SAS (France), Scientia Terrae (Belgium), Huerta Valle Hibri2 SL (Spain), Agencia de gestion agraria y pesquera de Andalucia (Spain), Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany), STE Maraissa SA (Morocco), RTDS Association (Austria) and Corteva Agriscience Italia SRL (Italy) all as beneficiaries, and the University of Agricultural Sciences Bengaluru (India) as an international partner of the project.
Funding & Duration of the VIRTIGATION project
With EUR 7 million in funding contributed by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. VIRTIGATION ran for 4,5 years, from the 1st of June 2021 until the 30th of November 2025.
For more information, please contact:
KU Leuven
Prof. Dr. Hervé Vanderschuren
VIRTIGATION Project Coordinator
E-Mail: herve.vanderschuren@kuleuven.be
RTDS Association
David Donnerer
VIRTIGATION Project Communication Manager
E-Mail: virtigation@rtds-group.com
Project website: www.virtigation.eu
CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000570
