Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)

About the virus

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus is an exotic plant disease that affects tomatoes, capsicums and chillies. Listed on the National Priority Plant Pest list, it is highly contagious and regarded as a threat to Australia's $5.8 billion vegetable industry.

ToBRFV could have a significant impact on our vegetable industry, including considerable economic losses due to reduced yield and quality of produce. In tomatoes, ToBRFV can reduce marketable yield by up to 75%.

ToBRFV is easily spread through:

• infected seed, plants for planting, grafts and cuttings
• direct plant to plant contact, including grafting
• touch transmission by handling contaminated tools, gloves, equipment, surfaces, and clothing
• transmission in seeds and irrigation water.

The virus can survive in seeds, plant debris, and contaminated soil for months. Once a crop is infected, the only control action is destroying all affected plants and material.

Some weeds, including black nightshade, silverleaf nightshade, and buffalo bur are regarded as hosts for ToBRFV. Potatoes are not known hosts and eggplant is unlikely to host or be affected by the virus.

The virus poses no threat to human health, and it is not a food safety risk. Restrictions are put in place to protect other producers from the impacts on crop yields and marketability.

Current situation

The virus was first detected in Australia in August 2024. On 29 May 2025, the National Management Group decided ToBRFV is no longer technically feasible to eradicate from Australia.

In August 2025, South Australia recognised the need to prioritise industry-led biosecurity practices over regulatory containment, and biosecurity control orders on the 4 affected properties were not renewed after 29 August 2025.

Each affected business has been through a destruction, disposal and decontamination process to eliminate the disease.

The most recent detection of ToBRFV in South Australia was in March 2025.

On 22 September 2025, the National Management Group agreed to stand down remaining eradication response activities under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed for ToBRFV.

On 3 October, the South Australian Government issued an Area Freedom Certificate, providing confidence for interstate markets that South Australia was free of ToBRFV following extensive testing across its tomato-growing regions. Over 200,000 samples were tested across 109 properties, providing strong evidence that the virus was no longer present.

Market access protocols are still in place to minimise the risk of any potential disease spread.

History

ToBRFV was first detected in the Middle East in 2014 and has since been reported in Europe, the Middle East, China, Mexico and the USA.

The virus was first detected in Australia at 3 businesses in South Australia’s Northern Adelaide Plains.

ToBRFV was first confirmed on 2 properties on 14 August 2024 and, after plant materials were traced, a third infected property was confirmed on 30 August 2024. In November 2024, there was national agreement on a Response Plan to eradicate ToBRFV.

The plan provided a clear process for ToBRFV eradication within affected premises and a return to trade for impacted South Australian growers. Following this:

• On 14 January 2025, ToBRFV was detected in Victoria after tomato seedlings were sent to that property from one of the South Australian affected properties without authorisation from PIRSA or Agriculture Victoria. There is no evidence ToBRFV is present elsewhere in Victoria.
• On 11 May 2025, ToBRFV was detected in seedlings provided to the Victorian infected property by a commercial nursery in NSW. The NSW nursery had not received any ToBRFV host material from any of the South Australian infected properties or from the single Victorian infected property. The NSW nursery was subsequently sampled and tested negative for ToBRFV.
• On 19 May 2025, an earlier batch of seedlings, which arrived on the Victorian infected property from the same NSW nursery, was confirmed to be infected with ToBRFV. This detection was in the same seed line as the detection made on 11 May 2025.
• PIRSA's seed tracing investigations led to a positive result for ToBRFV in 2 seed lines imported into Australia in late May 2024 with appropriate offshore testing certification, including negative results for ToBRFV. These seed lines had links to 2 of the infected properties. The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is responsible for investigating importation of the seeds, and the certification associated with them.
• On 29 May 2025, the National Management Group agreed ToBRFV was no longer technically feasible to eradicate from Australia.
• In July 2025, ToBRFV was detected in a commercial tomato crop in NSW. This was the first confirmed report of ToBRFV in NSW.

Prevent the spread

ToBRFV spreads easily. To protect your property and produce from ToBRFV, producers, home gardeners and consumers are reminded to practice safe biosecurity measures and report anything suspicious with their plants, crops, or fruit to ensure early detection.