New restrictions on tomato & pepper seed

[delltraveller]

As the holder of an APHIS small seed lot import permit, I've received the following message:

Effective November 22, 2019, after issuance of this notice, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will restrict the importation of★tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum spp.)★hosts of★Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). APHIS has determined it is necessary to restrict the importation of these plant species to prevent the introduction of ToBRFV into the United States.

★

ToBRFV is a recently described member of the Tobamovirus genus. This virus genus also contains other economically important pathogens that infect vegetable crops, including Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), and Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV). The disease caused by ToBRFV was first reported in 2014 in tomatoes in Israel. Since then, ToBRFV has been reported in China, Mexico, Germany (eradicated), Italy, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Given the global nature of seed production and the international movement of seeds, the distribution may be greater than reported.

★

Tomato and pepper are the two main hosts. Symptoms caused by ToBRFV include bubbling and mosaic on leaves of susceptible pepper, and fern leaf and mosaic on tomato leaves. On fruit, symptoms include smaller fruit size with a rough surface, fruit drop, delay in ripening, and fruit discoloration including blotching, pale color and/or brown necrotic spots. Infected tomato fruits can be unmarketable or reduced in quality. Necrosis can occur on susceptible pepper fruit.★Tobamoviruses are mechanically transmitted and seed borne viruses. ToBRFV is mechanically transmissible through infected sap of both tomato and pepper. Transmission occurs through touching and manipulating infected plants. Transmission is common during transplant productions or in crop production systems in which plants are regularly handled, such as greenhouse operations.

★

To safeguard against the introduction of ToBRFV into the United States, APHIS is restricting the importation of tomato and pepper by requiring imported plants and plant products to be free of evidence of ToBRFV, as specified in the attached Federal Order.★ Currently, propagative hosts are considered high risk pathways for the introduction of ToBRFV and under the conditions of the Federal Order, imports of propagative material must be free from ToBRFV based on origin from an area where the pest is absent or based on negative results of diagnostic testing.★

★

To prevent the introduction of ToBRFV into the United States via propagative material, lots of★S. lycopersicum★and★Capsicum★spp. propagative material (including plants for planting, seeds, grafts, obscured seed, and cuttings) from all countries must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate or a re-export Phytosanitary Certificate with an additional declaration (AD) certifying the lots fulfill the following requirements prior to importation into the United States and its territories:

The★Solanum lycopersicum★and/or★Capsicum★spp. plants for planting or seeds originated from a country certified free from Tomato brown rugose fruit virus, as established by the national plant protection organization of that country;

OR

A representative sample of the★Solanum lycopersicum★and/or★Capsicum★spp. plants for planting or seed lot has been officially tested and found free of Tomato brown rugose virus.

Small lots of★S. lycopersicum★and★Capsicum★spp. seed originating from a single mother plant or a single breeder line intended for breeding purposes and not for immediate commercial sale may be imported from all countries with a Phytosanitary Certificate or a re-export Phytosanitary Certificate with an alternative AD stating that the seed lots meet the following requirements prior to importation:

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​All mother plants of★Solanum lycopersicum★and/or★Capsicum★spp. from which the seed lot originated from have been officially tested no more than 10 days prior to fruit harvest and found free of the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus.

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These requirements for imported fruit will remain in place unt​il APHIS completes its risk analysis of the fruit pathway for ToBRFV introduction into the United States and determines appropriate regulatory action.★

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For additional information regarding this Federal Import Order, please contact Dr. Angela McMellen-Brannigan at 301-851-2314 or★Angela.McMellen-Brannigan@usda.gov.

★

[delltraveller]

The order is identified as DA-2019-28

A web search should lead you to a pdf to download from APHIS with this letter and the federal order.

[bower]

Sounds like a nasty virus.

[Cole_Robbie]

https://www.greenhousegrower.com/pro...s-in-town/?amp

[GrowingCoastal]

from the linked article above

“When you get your seeds, make sure they’ve been tested and found virus-free,” he says. “As an added safety, you can treat the seed with TSP (triple sodium phosphate), a detergent with a high pH that disrupts virus particles on the outside of the seed. If you do a 10% TSP treatment for an hour, you can virtually eradicate the virus from the seed.”

I wonder if fermentation and bleach soak are also able to eliminate this virus. Or Oxiclean.


And then it says this but does not say WHAT to spray with.

After the growing season, take everything down and spray the inside of the house as well as all the benches, tools, and strings.

[SeanInVa]

Originally Posted by GrowingCoastal

And then it says this but does not say WHAT to spray with.

Given that this is the paragraph before

Originally Posted by Article

Because transmission is by contact, especially in greenhouses where plants are more frequently handled, extreme sanitation is called for. Workers need to glove up and wear protective clothing, constantly washing their hands in soap and dipping their tools in TSP or a non-fat, dry-milk protein solution.

And they talk about using the TSP solution on seeds, my guess would be they mean to spray with the 10% TSP solution. However, you're right, without being explicit, it's hard to say.

[clkeiper]

Most likely a greenhouse sanitizer such as physan is the spray to use after the crop is done and when cleaning the house for the season.. and the tools should be dipped in tsp? not just the seeds according to the article. working inside a greenhouse is incredibly difficult to keep sanitary conditions. it is hard work keeping it clean neat and not refuse on the floor.

[Cole_Robbie]

The enabling legislation is the Plant Protection Act of 2000. I just now read it. I attached a screen shot of the punishments for violating it. For the crime against humanity of mailing a tomato seed, you can get up to one year in Club Fed and a bonus civil fine of up to $50,000. It does say that they will be nice and start the fines for individuals at just $1,000.

Welcome to your new life of crime, international seed swappers.

[imp]

Seed cartels!!!

[Nan_PA_6b]

Secret ones?

[imp]

Shhhh, don't be telling nobody, but man, I got some seeds for youse guys!

I'm not an international seed trader or purchaser, but that virus is already in the USA. So … Did they quarantine all the cases?

On the upside, there are plenty of other tomato species that the ban doesn't affect, not to mention interspecies hybrids.

[frogsleap farm]

This is a nasty virus, and like ToMV is mechanically transmitted, no insect vector required. Common methods of transmission are human handling of plants (such a trellising) and pruning tools. There currently is no source of resistance. APHIS restrictions only apply to imported seeds, but there are similar restrictions imposed by many countries on seeds coming from the U.S. There are various effective seed treatments, but the seed needs to be tested after treatment to meet APHIS requirements.. There are various third party labs that do this testing, but they require a 2000 seed sample and testing is expensive. Unfortunately it is probably just a matter of time before this "new" disease becomes established in the U.S., the APHIS rules will only slow this down.