Researchers Focus in To Develop Disease-Resistant Lettuce Varieties

University of Florida scientists are closer to a breakthrough that could safeguard the nation’s lettuce supply. Backed by a $500,000 federal grant, the team is working to develop disease-resistant lettuce varieties built to withstand shifting weather and growing challenges.

The research targets bacterial leaf spot, a persistent disease that can significantly reduce yield and quality. Scientists are also responding to rising temperatures that threaten lettuce, a crop adapted to cooler conditions.

German Sandoya, UF/IFAS Associate Professor of horticultural sciences, is leading the effort with funding from USDA’ National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).

To build resistance, Sandoya and his team turned to a rare lettuce plant originally collected in Macedonia that naturally resists bacterial leaf spot. While not suitable for commercial production on its own, the plant has served as a valuable genetic source.

Using that source, researchers have developed hundreds of advanced breeding lines over several years. Now, with NIFA’s support, the team is moving into large-scale testing.

“This type of research takes time,” Sandoya says. “From the earliest breeding stages to releasing a cultivar, you are looking at seven to eight years. But we are now at the point where we have multiple promising lines and are narrowing them down.”

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Trials are planned in Florida, California, and Arizona to evaluate how the new lines perform across different climates and production systems, including open fields and greenhouse environments. Researchers are also testing the lettuce in sandy soils common in parts of Florida.

For more on the work going on to develop disease-resistant lettuce varieties, continue reading at blogs.ifas.ufl.edu.