France’s agriculture minister Didier Guillaume has confirmed that tomatoes on a farm in Brittany were found to be infected with the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV).
The affected farm has been placed under quarantine and the greenhouses will be destroyed.
See Also:Agriculture NewsThere is no known treatment for the devastating virus which can wipe out entire crops and poses a threat to peppers and chili plants.
The virus was first detected in Israel in 2014 and has since hit crops in Spain, Italy, the U.S. and Mexico,
Britain confirmed its first cases last July and in Germany, an outbreak was eradicated when infected plants were uprooted and destroyed before the soil was disinfected.
Earlier this month Horticulture Week reported that ToBRFV had been detected in imported seeds in the Netherlands and discovered in Spanish greenhouses.
The virus, which retains its power to infect over a long period of time, is spread through direct contact and by infected seeds, plants and fruits.
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