Kenyan scientist warns for impact ToBRFV on African growers

Published 2021년 11월 17일

Tridge summary

Dr. Isaac Macharia, the General Manager of Phytosanitary Services at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), has called on African tomato farmers to be on alert for the ToBRFV virus, which has been causing significant damage to tomato crops globally. The virus can lead to a yield loss of 30-70% and has a unique way of contaminating seed coats instead of embedding in the embryo. Macharia emphasized the importance of reporting any occurrence of the disease to prevent its spread and recommended preventing its introduction through the importation of contaminated seeds by implementing pre-shipment testing. He also suggested breeding resistant varieties and investing in laboratory diagnosis. Since Kenya imports most of its tomato, capsicum, and eggplant seeds, it has mandated real-time PCR testing for all imported tomato seeds to ensure no positive samples are imported. So far, no positive samples have been found since the initiative began in February 2021.

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Original content

Tomato farmers in Africa have been urged to be on the lookout for the ToBRFV virus that has been causing havoc in most tomato-growing countries. Speaking during African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) Congress in September this year, Dr. Isaac Macharia, General Manager, Phytosanitary Services at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), said countries in Africa are encouraged to report the occurrence of the disease to ensure other countries prepare. "This virus is more severe on young tomato plants and can result in 30-70% yield loss. The unique thing about this virus is that it doesn’t infect the embryo of the seed but instead contaminates the seed coat,” he added. “Its rapid spread demonstrates that ToBRFV has become a worldwide threat to tomato production. The continent needs to prepare for the negative impact of the disease in tomato production,” he said. "There is a need to ensure we prevent the introduction of this virus in most of our countries. We can achieve ...

Source: Hortidaily