Whenever you look at the plant tag or seed packet of tomatoes, you may see a bunch of strange abbreviations. Those abbreviations indicate that the cultivar has been bred for specific disease resistance. Combinations of V, F, and N are the most important to look for, but try to choose cultivars bred for resistance to problems common in your geographical area. To help clarify what these abbreviations stands for, I developed this list:

  • ASC = alternaria stem canker
  • BC = bacterial canker
  • BSK = bacterial speck
  • BST = bacterial spot
  • BW = bacterial wilt
  • C1, C2, etc. = leaf mold
  • CMV = cucumber mosaic virus
  • CR</strong = corky root
    [*]EB = early blight
    [*]F1, F2, etc. = fusarium wilt races
    [*]FCRR = fusarium crown and root rot
    [*]LB = late blight
    [*]N = root-knot nematode
    [*]PM = powdery mildew
    [*]PVY = potato virus Y
    [*]Si = silvering
    [*]St = gray leaf spot
    [*]TEV = tomato etch virus
    [*]ToMV = tobacco mosaic virus
    [*]ToMoV = tobacco mottle virus
    [*]TW, TSWV = spotted wilt virus
    [*]TYLC = tomato yellow leaf curl
    [*]V = verticillium wilt



Heirloom Tomato Favorites