TOMATO brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) has been detected at a tomato glasshouse facility in the Goulburn Valley in seedlings recently moved from South Australia.
Victoria’s Chief Plant Health Officer, Dr Rosa Crnov, revealed on January 17 that quarantine controls were in place at the property with Agriculture Victoria working closely with the business to ensure the virus does not spread and is eradicated.
Spreading from South Australia, the virus was detected last year in August at three SA farms, including the state's largest tomato grower, Perfection Fresh.
The initial detection of the virus led to mandatory crop destruction and interstate import bans were implemented.
"After national agreement on a pilot protocol to support trade, tomato seedlings were moved without authorisation from a decontaminated production nursery in South Australia to the Victorian business in mid-December 2024," Dr Crnov said.
Latest Stories
"Following notification that a plant grown in association with these seedlings had tested positive in SA, Agriculture Victoria implemented movement controls on the glasshouses at the Victorian facility and conducted extensive surveillance, which identified an infected plant.
"This detection is linked to a specific movement of plant material and there is no evidence that ToBRFV is present in any other location in Victoria."
The seedlings moved from South Australia into Victoria have been kept in glasshouses away from other plants on the Victorian property and have been under biosecurity control.
"We acknowledge this has significant impacts on the business and we’re committed to working with them to eradicate the virus from their property," Dr Crnov said.
"Response activities are being implemented in line with the nationally agreed response plan that is in place in South Australia, with the aim of eradicating the virus from Australia," Dr Crnov said.
"The entire property has been placed under biosecurity control to stop the movement of host products until further investigations are completed."
All affected plants at the Goulburn Valley glasshouse have been destroyed and all movement of plants between Victoria and South Australia suspended.
"We maintain confidence in the freedom of the rest of the state from ToBRFV and continue to monitor the national situation closely to determine if changes to our biosecurity measures are required.’
