EPPO Alert List – Tomato brown rugose fruit virus  (Tobamovirus - ToBRFV)  
Why  
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus  (Tobamovirus , ToBRFV) was first identified on tomatoes in 
Jordan in 2015 (EPPO RS 2016/024), outbreaks have recently occurred in Italy (EPPO RS 
2019/013),  Mexico (EPPO RS 2019/014),  Turkey (EPPO RS 2019/123),  China (EPPO RS 
2019/143), United Kingdom (EPPO RS 2019/163),  the Netherlands (EPPO RS 
2019/209),  Greece (EPPO RS 20 19/210), Spain (EPPO RS 2019/238) and France (EPPO RS 
2020/037) where the virus causes major concerns for growers of tomato and capsicum. As 
ToBRFV is an emerging virus and tomato is an important crop in the EPPO region, the EPPO 
Secretariat decided to add  it to the EPPO Alert List.  Since November 2019, the EU Commission 
has established emergency measures to prevent the introduction into, and the spread within the 
EU territory.  
Where  
In Germany and the USA (California), isolated outbreaks were detected in 2 018 in glasshouse 
tomato crops and   were subsequently eradicated.  
EPPO region:  France (first found in 2020), Greece (first found in 2019), Israel (first disease 
symptoms in 2014), Italy (eradicated from Piemonte, Sicilia), Jordan (first identified in 2015) , 
Netherlands (first found in 2019), Spain (first found in 2019), Turkey (first found in 2019),  
United Kingdom (Kent, first found in 2019).  
North America:  Mexico (under eradication).  
Asia: China (Shandong),  Israel, Jordan,  Turkey.  
    
On which plants  
Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) and capsicum ( Capsicum sp.) are the main hosts. Inoculation 
experiments showed that Nicotiana benthamiana, N. glutinosa, N. sylvestris, N. tabacum  
(tobacco) develop symptoms and that weeds such as Chenopodiastrum murale and Solanum 
nigrum  may act as reservoirs for ToBRFV. In one  study, aubergine  (Solanum melongena ) and 
potato ( S. tuberosum ) did not show symptoms after inoculation of the virus and ToBRFV was 
not found when the plants were subsequently tested by ELISA.  (Luria et al. , 2017). More 
recently, it was reported that ToBRF V was detected in a sample of aubergine collected from the 
state of Sinaloa, Mexico (Senasica, 2019).  
Damage  
On tomatoes, symptoms vary depending on varieties. Tomato cultivars with the Tm -22 resistance 
gene (used against other tobamoviruses) are susceptib le to ToBRFV. On tomato, foliar 
symptoms include chlorosis, mosaic and mottling with occasional leaf narrowing. Necrotic spots 
may appear on peduncles, calyces and petioles. Fruit show yellow or brown spots, with rugose 
symptoms rendering the fruits non -marketable. Fruits may be deformed and have irregular 
maturation. In the paper describing the first finding in Israel, diseased plants had 10 to 15% 
symptomatic fruit. In Jordan, in the first reported outbreak, disease incidence reached almost 
100%. On capsi cum, foliar symptoms include deformation, yellowing and mosaic. Capsicum 
fruits are deformed, with yellow or brown areas or green stripes.  
 
Yellow spots on tomatoes  
Courtesy:  Dr Aviv Dombrovsky  
 
Rugosis on leaves  
Courtesy:  Diana Godínez (MX)  
 
Symptoms on a tomato  
Courtesy:  Diana Godínez (MX)  
Transmission  
ToBRFV is transmitted by contact (contaminated tools, hands, clothing, direct plant -to-plant 
contact)  and propagation material (grafts, cuttings). Seed transmission of ToBRFV is suspected 
but needs to be verified. Tobamoviruses can remain infective in seeds, plant remains and 
contaminated soil for months. They are found in the seed coat and the endosperm, which could 
explain why conventional seed disinfection treatmen ts are not fully effective to control them. 
Even if transmission from seed to seedling is low, further dissemination by contact (e.g. during 
transplantation of seedlings or regular handling of the crop) allows a rapid spread within a 
glasshouse.  Recent gla sshouse experiments have shown that ToBRFV could be carried by 
bumblebees ( Bombus terrestris ) and transmitted to healthy tomato plants during pollination 
(mechanically). The disease was first observed in autumn 2014 in Israel and further spread 
occurred ac ross the entire country within one year, because of human -assisted spread and trade 
of infected seeds or seedlings.  
Pathway  
Plants for planting, seeds? from countries where ToBRFV occurs. The virus is also spread 
locally by contact.  
Possible risks  
Tomato a nd capsicum are important crops grown in the entire EPPO region under protected 
conditions. Symptoms of the disease makes the fruit unmarketable. Once the virus is introduced 
in an area, control measures are very limited and mainly rely on elimination of i nfected plants 
and strict hygiene measures. Testing methods (ELISA, RT -PCR) are available to detect the virus 
in the seed. It therefore seems desirable to avoid its further introduction and spread within the 
region.