Bacterial wilt, caused by R. solanacearum , is one of the most devastating diseases of tobacco. Because there are no available efficient control methods of this disease in the field, the development of resistant varieties may be an approach to reduce losses caused by bacterial wilt. Sources of resistance to R. solanacearum in burley tobacco are relatively rare, and efforts are being made to overcome this difficulty. In the past years, Universal Leaf Tabacos tobacco breeding program has developed new burley varieties with higher levels of resistance to R. solanacearum . The strategies to overcome this lack of resistance in burley tobacco were, initially, the identification of burley tobacco lines tolerant to bacterial wilt and also transfer of resistance from flue cured tobacco to other lines. ULT 526 was identified in a bacterial wilt nursery as a tolerant genotype and was used in crosses with Oxford 207, a resistant flue cured tobacco. The segregating population was advanced through the Pedigree Method in a naturally infected field. During many generations, the most resistant plants with burley tobacco agronomic traits were selected. The resulting lines combine the traits of a vigorous burley tobacco associated with high level of resistance to R. solanacearum and are being used to develop new burley tobacco hybrids. Some burley hybrids with excellent agronomic characteristics are available to meet the commercial needs, and new materials are currently being tested in field trials.