Latest news with #ToBRFV
ABC News
4 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Queensland farmers urge home gardeners to be vigilant as tomato virus strategy shifts
Queensland farmers are urging home gardeners planting tomatoes, chillies and capsicums to be vigilant over fears a highly contagious virus will spread. The state is continuing to restrict the movement of seeds, plants and fruit, as well as machinery, equipment and packaging from areas affected by tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). First detected in South Australia last year, it has since been found on a farm in Victoria, but experts and industry have abandoned eradication efforts and will instead move to a management strategy. Farmers, fearing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, are pleading with industry and home gardeners alike to hold the line. The virus is not harmful to humans, but causes brown or yellow spots to appear on leaves, fruit and stems of tomatoes, capsicums and chillies. The infected fruit can ripen irregularly or be deformed. It can reduce crop yields by 70 per cent, and there is no treatment or commercially available varieties of tomato that are resistant to the disease. Acting Victorian chief plant health officer Stephen Dibley said efforts to rid Australia of the virus had failed. "The biology of the virus makes it very hard to eradicate," Dr Dibley said. Queensland remains free of the virus, but Dr Dibley said there could be undetected cases. "We're still trying to understand where these new detections have come from." As well as tomatoes, Queensland grows 66 per cent of the national capsicum crop and 90 per cent of the chilli crop. Biosecurity Queensland chief plant health manager Michael Reid said the movement control order was extended for three months on March 16. Once it expired, Mr Reid said a team of experts would revisit the order to assess the risk to Queenslanders and production systems. "We will be taking a risk-based approach to our regulation, making sure that we protect our industries," he said. In significant growing areas like Bundaberg, farmers are conducting voluntary in-field testing for peace of mind that their crops are virus-free. Over the past 10 months, farmer group Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers has held almost weekly biosecurity meetings to monitor where locals are sourcing their seedlings from. Chief executive Bree Watson said the National Management Group's decision would change how farmers managed and monitored the virus. "It shifts the responsibility for monitoring and containing it more onto industry and individual businesses than it does on government departments," Ms Watson said. She urged home gardeners to take part in the biosecurity effort and learn what to look for in their own vegetable patches. "They should be checking their plants regularly for anything that's showing signs of disease." Ms Watson said it was especially important for home gardeners to make sure their seeds and seedlings came from reputable suppliers. Despite being far from the southern border, north Queensland's tomato-growing region around Bowen, south of Townsville, was on high alert. "This tomato virus is a little humdinger," Bowen-Gumlu Growers Association president Carl Walker said. "We've got hundreds of millions of dollars a year just in tomatoes alone in this region … it could seriously destroy the tomato industry across Australia if it's allowed to spread. "It's a wake-up call for all growers to be very vigilant with their biosecurity because it can destroy our industry just, bang, like that. "If we do get it, God help us … it's hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of production and thousands of jobs, which is not what our economy needs." While the state has yet to contend with an outbreak, the virus is already causing losses. New Zealand suspended imports from all Australian states apart from Queensland when the virus was detected in South Australia. Tomato and capsicum seeds from Australia must also be tested before they arrive. In 2023, Australia sent more than 530,000 kilograms of tomatoes to New Zealand. While exports account for only a small portion of sales compared to the $500 million domestic market, Ms Watson said it was a vital avenue for growers who had access to it. In a statement, New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries said: "We are closely monitoring the situation in Australia and if there is any significant change in distribution, or which crops it (ToBRFV) is affecting, we will review the current import rules." "Although Australia has announced they will no longer be pursuing eradication, all of the controls that have been in place to limit spread of the virus remain."
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Tomato virus pivot shifts strategy, giving hope to growers
Tomato producers in South Australia impacted by a fruit virus hope to "rebuild their lives" as officials concede eradication is no longer possible. This week, the National Management Group (NMG) of biosecurity experts and industry representatives decided it was not "technically feasible" to eradicate the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) from Australia after it crossed state boundaries. Perfection Fresh in the northern Adelaide Plains food bowl region was the first site to detect the highly contagious virus in August. Almost a year on, CEO Michael Simonetta still remembers "one of the worst days" of his career when he told nearly 500 employees he had no job available for them. "We pulled out 1.2 million healthy plants from our glasshouse and dumped hundred of tonnes of perfectly good, safe, edible fruit," he said. "It reached the point I couldn't watch it any longer. "I feel more for our staff at our site at Two Wells. It was heartbreaking, it was devastating, words failed me." Despite infected tomatoes being safe to eat, Perfection Fresh is one of three South Australian sites that face export restrictions to some states. The virus spread to a Victorian tomato glasshouse in January and infested seedlings were in May detected at the same site — but this time they came from a commercial nursery in New South Wales, a state with no previous links to the virus. Last week, Victorian authorities said tracing was underway to find out where the infection came from. In those two states, hundreds of jobs have been lost and growers have had to destroy thousands of affected plants. The NMG has focused on eradication but on Thursday agreed it will move to management — a strategy Mr Simonetta and other growers have long called for. "We advocated from day one that this virus needed to be managed and eradication was impossible, we thought, based on what's happening around the world," Mr Simonetta said. "The reality is growers manage viruses every day of their lives and this is no different. "The move now to management will allow all of those businesses to … get back to business and to rebuild their lives because this decimated a lot of growers." Even so, Mr Simonetta said it would be January or February before his business returned to full production. SA Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven on Friday said if the state took a management approach when the virus was first detected, it was "almost certain" other local growers would have been blocked from exporting tomatoes interstate. "We've been very focused on ensuring that we've had market access for over 200 growers that we have here in South Australia," she said. "That would continue to be our focus as we move to what's called the management phase." Ms Scriven said the national strategy change was prompted by additional detections interstate but in South Australia, the virus has been contained to three businesses. "We've been able to manage access to a number of other jurisdictions for one of those businesses, the other two have not been able to to a large extent," she said. The NMG said current strategies to contain the spread remained in place until "an agreed national strategy for management can be developed in consultation with impacted industries".
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cost of supermarket staple could rise if highly-contagious virus spreads
A devastating virus affecting tomato farms in South Australia and Victoria is threatening to raise the price of the popular fruit if it's not controlled, experts have warned. The tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is harmless to humans but it can can affect 100 per cent of plants and cause crop losses of up to 70 per cent. The highly contagious virus affects tomato, capsicum and chilli and poses a 'significant biosecurity risk' to Australia's vegetable industry, Queensland Biosecurity Ambassador Dr Kayvan Etebari told Yahoo News. After being detected in South Australia five months ago, it spread to a tomato glasshouse in northern Victoria via a shipment of tomato seedlings earlier this month. One hundred workers were laid off this week, and quarantine measures have been put in place at the farm. Etebari said biosecurity threats can have a huge socioeconomic impact. 'Pest and disease outbreaks can lead to job losses and reduced workforce demand, posing a significant risk to household economies,' he said. And in a further hit to households, the virus could also increase the cost of tomatoes if it continues to spread. 'Since the virus spreads systemically, all parts of an infected plant can serve as a source of inoculum, posing a significant risk to healthy crops. This loss of plants can lead to a shortage of fresh produce in the market. As a fundamental economic principle, reduced supply often results in higher prices, impacting both consumers and the agricultural industry.' ToBRFV first emerged in Israel in 2014 before spreading to Europe four years later. Since then, Turkey, the US and China have all had outbreaks. It was first detected in South Australia in August 2024, and is believed to have been present in two seed lines imported from Turkey earlier in the year. 'This highlights the critical importance of biosecurity awareness when traveling internationally,' Etebari said. 'When returning from overseas, it is essential to carefully read and accurately answer the questions on the Incoming Passenger Card. Carrying plant material, seeds, or soil—even unintentionally—can introduce devastating plant viruses and pose a serious risk to Australia's agricultural industry and environment.' In September last year, an estimated 500 workers lost their jobs when three tomato farms in South Australia were shut down because of the virus. Growers were forced to destroy thousands of plants and reportedly suffered more than $20m in losses. The farm in Victoria has been placed under biosecurity control until further investigations are completed. Thankfully, the affected seedlings were kept in glasshouses away from other plants on the property. South Australia's Department of Primary Industries said they are "confident" the virus is not spreading, despite the recent transmission to Victoria. 🐊 Aussies warned of danger lurking in floodwaters: 'Always an issue' ♻️ Photo capturing brazen recycling act sparks debate: 'Could be charged' 🚘 Obscure '3D' road markings appear on roads Etebari encourages all Australians to help protect the country from exotic pests and diseases by regularly checking their gardens for both, and reporting anything suspicious to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881. 'Even if the suspected pest or disease turns out not to be exotic or a major concern, this simple practice helps safeguard our environment and agricultural industry,' he said. 'Early detection and reporting are crucial in preventing outbreaks and protecting Australia's biodiversity and food security.' Fruits affected by ToBRFV will show yellow spotting or marbling, uneven ripening, deformation and wrinkled patches. Symptoms in leaves include yellowing, mottling or a mosaic pattern on the leaves, crumpling and deformation, and a blister-like appearance on the top surface of the leaves. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
