Photos

August 2024

The TOMI project took part in the Oregon State University Organic Agriculture Field Day on August 5, 2025. Jim Myers discussed the TOMI field trial, in which different cultivars are being planted to test their resistance to a variety of diseases, including late blight and septoria leaf spot. It's been difficult to test for all resistances, though, since not all the diseases are present this year! Project members hope to breed tomatoes with multiple resistances to disease in addition to good flavor--which will be a subject of a future webinar! Although the tomatoes aren't ripe yet, they will be in time for the Tomato Fest in Portland on September , where TOMI will have a table! 

Emma Landgraver, an OSU Master's student, is conducting research for the biocontrol objective of the TOMI project in a high tunnel at Gathering Together Farm, in Philomath, OR. There, a trap captures fungal spores, so that researchers can learn which fungal species are present. Suspended below a motor is a ruler with two slides attached to either end and side. The two slides have sticky clear plastic taped to one side. The sticky side faces out, so as the motor spins, the sticky plastic is able to pick up fungal spores in the air. Once every two weeks, the slides are changed out and shipped to Purdue University, where Lori Hoagland and her lab process the slides. Emma sent these photos of the greenhouse and spore traps!

Variety Showcase 2024, Portland, Oregon

Jim Myers and Emma Landgraver of Oregon State University, and Nico Enjalbert (not pictured) of SeedLinked conducted a tomato tasting using the SeedLinked App! Photo credit: Shawn Linehan Photography.