Researchers in England have found a species of wild tomato that repels pesky whiteflies.
Whiteflies often attack tomatoes grown in greenhouses. They damage plants by sucking out sap and leaving residue that invites mold and other threats.
Wild currant tomatoes, which are closely related to domestic varieties, repel whiteflies and clog their feeding tubes.
Researchers say the wild variety could be crossbred with commercial tomatoes to boost resistance – or the genes could be spliced into genetically modified tomatoes if the genes could be isolated.
The study, published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development, said that by selecting for characteristics like higher yields and larger fruit, humans might have accidentally bred resistance out of the plant.