Special
Greenhouse Vegetables
The Dutch tomato market learns about (and how to live with) ToBRFV the virus. So much so that in that year, several specialists from the Netherlands felt compelled to share information with the market. René van der Vlugt was one of them. “Without clarity, there’s no real action, and that’s desperately needed,” he noted in July 2019. René underlined the importance of caution in reporting about viruses in greenhouse horticulture. Precisely because of trade and political interests. He, however, also stressed that since it is a persistent virus and true threat, ToBRFV should be taken seriously.
Present Transient
The EPPO uses this map to track the global spread of the ToBRF Virus across the globe
For anyone involved in tomatoes, the abbreviation in this article’s title needs no explanation. Anyone growing, breeding, packaging, or trading tomatoes has to deal with this, the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). More than two years after the virus was first officially discovered in the Netherlands, that much is now clear. If not because of infections in Dutch greenhouses, then because the market has been set in motion. This summer, for example, ToBRFV infections caused tomato shortages which in turn resulted in ‘winter prices’. It is expected to affect the coming season’s market too. That is because plantings have been disrupted, and production will peak at unusual times.
T
he term ‘ToBRFV-effect’ was used for the first time this summer, at least in Dutch tomato circles. That is because this virus’ contamination rates have risen sharply, and the spread is considerable, not only in the Netherlands. The virus has been a hot topic and major cause of concern for growers and breeders for several years now. Since it was first officially found in the Netherlands in spring 2019, ToBRFV has spread rapidly worldwide. It is easily transferable, and virologists call it “highly persistent”. That is reiterated by the fact that this virus can survive for long periods without a host plant in the greenhouse, on clothing, or even crates.
oc on tomatoes, bell peppers, and chilies. It hits tomatoes the hardest, by far. The virus’s harmlessness to humans and animals has been continually emphasized since the first reports of it began circulating.
In March 2019, the first rumours of ToBRFV findings began to do the rounds in the Netherlands. However, it was not until October of that year that a confirmed infection was officially reported. Not long after, on November 1, 2019, the virus received European quarantine (Q) status. This means you have to report a (suspected) outbreak to the authorities. Even before it gained Q-status, the Netherlands was not in favour of such a status. That was because of the “lack of clarity” about the virus at the time. Also, “(clearing out a greenhouse) has a considerably greater impact on a tomato company than the virus itself,” a Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) spokesperson said in May 2019. [2]
How this virus spreads has now become clearer. That is evident in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation’s (EPPO) frequently-consulted virus distribution map. [3] It is widely spread, which is why the Netherlands continues to point out the Q-status’ disadvantages. It greatly affects the Netherlands as a large, but at the same time, small player. That is in terms of the workforce when it comes to, for example, virus testing and tracing research. The current Q-status expires in May 2022. The NVWA and the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) hope to convince the rest of the European member states that, once that happens, (strict) seed and plant material standards can halt the virus’ further spread. [4]
And a good thing, too, because once ToBRFV started becoming a serious issue in the Netherlands, it caused a panic. A virus and the consequent negative publicity can cause major financial damage. Everyone in the tomato world who experienced the Wasserbombs crisis in the 1990s is well aware of that. Because what if consumers decide to stop buying (Dutch) tomatoes out of an unwarranted It surfaced in Germany in 2018. But sci- fear of the virus? TOBRFV COUNTER entific articles list Israel as the first place In the Netherlands, the number of ToBRFV this virus was found in 2014. The plant Q STATUS contaminations has been steadily rising. virus, which is what it is, is not dangerous That has not happened so far. But, certain- The NVWA has been keeping a transparto humans and animals. But it wreaks hav- ly, in 2019, people kept very quiet about ent count since the first official outbreak.
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AGF Primeur • Gewächshausgemüse • 2022
