b'Although some positive work is being made with the systemsent molecular method tests, its easy to get false positives. In the approach, it isnt all sunshine and rainbows in the realm of phy- United States, were using a slightly different testing method that tosanitary. A new virus plagues the tomato and pepper industry:is giving us different results.Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV).In the meantime, Dunkle says that one of the ways ASTA has been helping is by getting funding to allow universities to con-The Bad: Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus tinue working on research in developing better testing methods, First discovered in Israel back in 2015, ToBRFV is causing morediscovering new resistance genes and improving management and more problems every year. and sanitation practices. Theres a major class of viruses that are huge pests in toma- If you do the right things, you can avoid or minimize impact toes and peppers called tobamoviruses, Dunkle says. There arefor phytosanitary concerns, he says. Now, other countries are a number of species in this group. Breeders developed a TM-2-2imposing their own testing regulations, so its critically important gene that provides overall resistance to this class of virus. Nearlyto find the best testing methods and new resistance genes to all commercial varieties have this gene in them, and its reallycross breed into new varieties.effective. However, Dunkle says currently, seed companies have been In addition to the TM-2-2 gene, Dunkle says that peppersdoing a good job policing themselves for fear of moving the virus have a similar gene called the L9 gene that does the samearound. thing. However, something alarming is happening with this newThe industry wants to have maximum confidence that the ToBRFV virus.seed is free from viruses, he says. Many tomato growers are This new virus doesnt respond to this gene, Dunkle says.asking companies for seed tests themselves. This is a good Tomatoes are really susceptible to it, and its seed borne. Itsexample of things happening in the industry thats just a little bit highly mechanically transmitted using cuttings, pollinating orfaster than the governments. These things pop up, but theres even touching plants can spread this virus. a constant cycle of finding new resistance genes and trying to Dunkle says the worst thing about this virus is that there waskeep ahead of the game. an explosion of ToBRFV in Mexico in 2018.But thats not the worst, according to Dunkle.Mexico put a testing requirement for seed before it enters Mexico, he says. ASTA has been working with scientists andThe Ugly: Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid and Five Other regulatory authorities bothin Mexico and the U.S. tojointlyRelated Viroidsevaluate these testing methods. Often times, with these differ-Companies producing tomato and pepper seed face a new problem. The Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid (PSTVd) comes from another class of virus called the pospiviroids, and can have a devastating effect on potatoes. This is a major issue with potatoes; however, its an inconse-quential issue on tomatoes, Dunkle says. To make things worse, there are five other viroids in this group that are also classified asquarantine pests.Dunkle explains that one way this has become an issue is because a lot of tomato and pepper seed is grown in Southeast Asia where PSTVd and many of these other viroids occur. Theres a trend for companies to produce seeds in China and other countries in Asia, then ship them to California for disinfect-ing and processing, he says. After theyre processed, theyre often sent to Europe. This problem was first identified last year Restoration & Reclamation when seed that was produced in China then sent to California Sustainable Landscapes for processing, was then re-exported to Greece where it was Pollinator Habitat determined to have PSTVd.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) then decided to do some testing of its own last fall, andConservation found a high percentage of seed lots contaminated with PSTVd.Biomass ASTA was notified, and since then, these contaminated seed lots have been held until further notice. The downside to these seeds being held, is that companies are losing millions of dollars ernstseed.com in seed sales. sales@ernstseed.com Now, were trying to figure out where we go from here, 800-873-3321 Dunkle says. On Aug. 8, USDA published an emergency federal order that imposed phytosanitary requirements for tomato and pepper seed entering the United States from any country.This federal 44/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2019'