Tomato Seed Recall for Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus

— Written By
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) was detected on some tomato seeds from a seed company called Fruition Seeds in New York, recently. Although there are not yet any confirmed positives for ToBRFV on tomato seed that have been deployed to date, anyone (growers and homeowners) who have received certain varieties of tomato seeds are being contacted by Fruition to destroy any remaining seeds and plants.

The company has sent notification emails to all potentially impacted customers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We believe these customers are primarily home growers, however, there may be some commercial operators who also received this seed.

If you are contacted, it is extremely important to:

  • place any remaining seeds or plants, even if planted in the field, into trash bags and dispose of it through their normal waste disposal methods.
  • not compost the materials.
  • apply a 10% bleach solution to any gardening tools or surfaces that came into contact with the plants/seeds.

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is a rapidly emerging virus that can dramatically reduce the yield of tomatoes, primarily, and peppers. The threat of this virus to commercial production is severe. The virus can be readily transmitted through seeds and from plant to plant by mechanical touching (e.g., hands, or tools). In addition, this virus overcomes existing genetic resistance to other closely related tobamoviruses in tomato and pepper. Management tactics are limited so it is extremely important to limit the spread of this virus.

ToBRFV first emerged in a tomato greenhouse in 2014 and since then has spread to more than 30 countries. In the US, ToBRFV has been detected on imports in Florida, California, and Arizona and also in a home garden in Florida.

Symptoms of ToBRFV on tomato fruit

Symptoms of ToBRFV on tomato (left and center) and pepper (right) (Images: Left and center: Luria, et al., 2017 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170429.g001); Right: Alkowni, et al., 2019 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330722102

Infected leaves may show mosaic patterns, be deformed with darker green bulges, and/or have narrow leaves. Young leaves may show symptoms more severely or first. Peduncles (stems that bear fruit) and calyces (the green foliage at the base of flowers and fruit) may be necrotic. Plants may even fail to product fruit, but if fruit is produced, it may have uneven coloring or blotches of color, deformed with rugose or wrinkled appearance, brown spots, and may have ringspots.

Pepper plants with ToBRFV may have puckered leaves, yellow mosaic or mottling on the leaves, and may be stunted. Similar rugose and blotches may be observed on pepper fruit.

For more information, the USDA APHIS website has images of symptoms and FAQs.The EPPO Global Database also has more information on this disease including photos of symptoms. In North Carolina, reach out to your extension agent or NC State’s tomato pathologist, Inga Meadows at inga_meadows@ncsu.edu.