21-05-2025
Mystery over new detection of tomato rugose virus in Victoria
New South Wales authorities are investigating the source of a new detection of a devastating tomato virus after previous outbreaks in South Australia and Victoria.
The tomato brown rugose fruit virus has been found at a glasshouse in northern Victoria, after an outbreak at the same place in January this year.
Routine testing of seedlings arriving at Katunga Fresh, which is still under quarantine, found they were infected with the destructive exotic disease.
But the infested seedlings came from a commercial NSW nursery; a state with no previous links to the virus.
The virus is highly contagious, and deforms and discolours tomato, capsicum and chilli plants.
It is listed as a national priority plant pest so authorities are attempting to eradicate it.
Eating infected fruit does not harm people, but the economic impact for growers and their employees is significant, with the disease causing yield losses of up to 70 per cent.
Australia remained free of the disease until August last year, when it was discovered on three farms in the North Adelaide Plains in South Australia.
The properties were plunged into quarantine, with crops destroyed and hundreds of jobs lost, while some other states imposed bans on SA tomatoes.
Despite the control measures, infected seedlings were transported without authorisation to northern Victoria, leading to a new outbreak there.
On Friday last week, Agriculture Victoria said new seedlings sent from a nursery in New South Wales to Katunga Fresh had tested positive for the virus.
Victoria Chief Plant Health Officer Stephen Dibley said tracing was underway.
"We're continuing to do our investigations on where potentially this virus has come from," Dr Dibley said.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) spokesperson said the NSW nursery which supplied the infected seedlings "is not known to have received any material from any of the infected businesses in South Australia or Victoria."
The department initially placed the nursery under quarantine, but testing "showed no evidence of the presence of tomato brown rugose fruit virus."
It said the quarantine direction was removed "once conclusively negative diagnostic results showed the virus was not present in the seedlings."
The spokesperson said the department would work with and monitor the nursery.
Greenlife Industry Australia, which is a peak body representing the country's nurseries, has been part of a committee consulting authorities managing the outbreak.
Its biosecurity director, John McDonald, said the Katunga Fresh detection could be a brand new outbreak, given New South Wales had not had the virus and the nursery had no links to previous outbreaks.
But he said further testing was needed.
"The consultative committee is meeting and is discussing the new detection in NSW and (DPIRD) is actively doing its investigations and tracing," he said.
"The virus is known to lay dormant in vegetated material, so plants, stems, fruit, leaves and seed as well tools, equipment be on our hands."
Dr Dibley said the control measures at Katunga Fresh were continuing and there was no evidence the virus was present elsewhere in Victoria.
"We know this is a very challenging situation for the impacted business," he said.
The South Australian outbreak has also been contained to the three affected properties which remain under biosecurity control.
