The Ministry of Agriculture reported Sunday, February 16, a " very strong suspicion " of ToBRFV virus on tomatoes in a greenhouse on a farm in Finistère, which could lead to " major economic consequences for the sector ". " The services of the DRAAF (regional directorate of food) Brittany carried out an inspection on February 11 following a self-check (analyzes for virus search) carried out after identification, on tomatoes, of lesions compatible with this disease ", a the ministry said in a statement.
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The official results should be communicated this 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 the tomato plants in the 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.
In early February, ANSES warned against " the tomato brown rugose fruit virus " (ToBRFV), a new virus " particularly dangerous for plants which are sensitive to it ". 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 - 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 French consume more than 13.9 kg per household per year. In 2018, 712,000 tonnes of tomatoes were produced in France.
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