28
Jan 2025

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus detected in Victoria:  Concern for vulnerable New Zealand tomato growers

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus detected in Victoria:  Concern for vulnerable New Zealand tomato growers
The spread of the virus from South Australia to Victoria in Australia highlights, what appears to be the near impossible task of eradicating the virus from a property once infected.  New Zealand growers have been communicating such concerns since the original outbreak in South Australia was confirmed to New Zealand officials in August 2024.

During a seminar hosted by De Ruiter/Bayer Australia late in 2024 – growers from South and North America expressed the importance of resistant varieties as they had not been able to eradicate the virus, even though they used numerous cleaning products.

https://www.grower2grower.co.nz/video-of-session-now-available-excellent-online-webinar-hosted-by-de-ruiter-bayer-australia/

Including the direct threat of ToBRFV, certain properties in New Zealand are dealing with PepMV (Pepino Mosaic Virus).  New Zealand growers currently have no access to PepMV inoculation as other countries.  This places our growers in a precarious position if they have another fire to fight currently!

Previously I published multiple articles on the dangers of ToBRFV. Go to Grower2Grower Archives and search ToBRFV.

Grower2Grower

Related Articles Below:

SA tomato grower defends transporting infected seedlings to Victoria – ABC News

Source ABC News:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-01-25/tomato-transport-brown-rugose-fruit-virus-sa-to-victoria/104848734

Other related Article:
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus detected in Victoria
17 January 2025

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) has been detected at a tomato glasshouse facility in Victoria in seedlings recently moved from South Australia.

Victoria’s Chief Plant Health Officer, Dr Rosa Crnov, said quarantine controls were in place at the property and Agriculture Victoria is working closely with the business to ensure the virus does not spread and is eradicated.

‘After national agreement on a pilot protocol to support trade, tomato seedlings were moved without authorisation from a decontaminated production nursery in South Australia to the Victorian business in mid-December 2024,’ Dr Crnov said.

‘Following notification that a plant grown in association with these seedlings had tested positive in SA, Agriculture Victoria implemented movement controls on the glasshouses at the Victorian facility and conducted extensive surveillance, which identified an infected plant.

‘This detection is linked to a specific movement of plant material and there is no evidence that ToBRFV is present in any other location in Victoria.’

The seedlings moved from South Australia into Victoria have been kept in glasshouses away from other plants on the Victorian property and have been under biosecurity control.

‘We acknowledge this has significant impacts on the business and we’re committed to working with them to eradicate the virus from their property,’ Dr Crnov said.

‘Response activities are being implemented in line with the nationally agreed response plan that is in place in South Australia, with the aim of eradicating the virus from Australia,’ Dr Crnov said.

‘The entire property has been placed under biosecurity control to stop the movement of host products until further investigations are completed.

‘We maintain confidence in the freedom of the rest of the state from ToBRFV and continue to monitor the national situation closely to determine if changes to our biosecurity measures are required.’

There will be no further movements to Victoria under the pilot protocol following the detection of ToBRFV.

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus is a highly contagious plant virus that affects tomatoes, capsicums and chillies. The virus is a serious threat to Australia’s tomato, capsicum and chilli industries.

The virus spreads easily through contaminated tools, hands, clothing and direct plant-to-plant contact, including grafting and cuttings. It can also be transmitted in seeds and irrigation water.

The virus can remain viable in seed, plant waste and contaminated soil for months and once a crop is infected, the only way to eradicate the virus is by destroying all infected plants and material.

There is no risk to food safety or human health from eating tomatoes with this virus.

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) was detected in South Australia (SA) in August 2024 and is known to be present on 3 properties in SA.

Victorian tomato and capsicum producers and home gardeners are encouraged to monitor their crops and to contact Agriculture Victoria if they suspect the disease might be present.

Producers should make a report if they suspect the presence of ToBRFV in their crops. You can:

More information about ToBRFV can be found on the Agriculture Victoria website: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/plant-diseases/vegetable-diseases/tomato-brown-rugose-fruit-virus

Media contact: PublicInformation.STPTEPP@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Source:

https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/about/media-centre/media-releases/2025-releases/tomato-brown-rugose-fruit-virus-detected-in-victoria

 

 

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