Virus alert in tomato plants. Sunday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a "very strong suspicion" of tomato virus in a greenhouse operation in Finistère. This disease called “tomato brown rugose fruit virus” or ToBRFV in its abridged version, has wreaked havoc in all the countries where it has settled.
The official results are expected to be released on Monday by the national reference laboratory. In the meantime, the operation has been placed in complete sequestration with, in particular, the confinement of the two greenhouses of the operation and the access ban. The destruction of all tomato plants in contaminated greenhouses will be carried out "as soon as the outbreak is officially confirmed," said the ministry.
No impact on humans
According to the Health Security Agency (ANSES), the tomato virus can infect up to 100% of plants on a production site, which makes it formidable for crops with high planting density such as greenhouse crops. However, it has no impact on humans. It can be transmitted through infected seeds, plants and fruit and survives in the open air for a long time.
This virus was first observed in Israel in 2014, then it was found in 2018 on tomato crops in Mexico, the United States, Germany and Italy and finally in 2019 in the Netherlands, in the United Kingdom. - United Kingdom and Greece. The spread of this virus on the national territory "would have major economic consequences for the sector, but also amateur gardeners", notes the ministry.
The tomato is the first vegetable consumed by the French with just over 13.9 kilos per household per year. The cultivation of tomatoes in France is the first vegetable crop with 712,000 tonnes produced in 2018. Brittany and its three behemoths Savéol, Prince de Bretagne and Solarenn cultivates half of French tomatoes.
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