Spread of Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus in Sicily and Evaluation of the Spatiotemporal Dispersion in Experimental Conditions

Stefano Panno,Salvatore Davino,Andrea Giovanni Caruso,Ezequiel A Rangel,Stefano Barone,Giosuè Lo Bosco

doi:10.3390/agronomy10060834

Abstract

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is an emerging pathogen that causes severe disease in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops. The first ToBRFV outbreak in Italy occurred in 2018 in several Sicilian provinces, representing a serious threat for tomato production. In the present work, the spatiotemporal displacement of ToBRFV in Sicily was evaluated, analyzing a total of 590 lots of tomato seed, 982 lots of plantlets from nurseries and 100 commercial greenhouses. Furthermore, we investigated the ToBRFV spreading dynamic in a greenhouse under experimental conditions. Results showed several aspects related to ToBRFV dispersion in protected tomato crops. In detail, an important decrease of the ToBRFV-infected seed and plantlet lots was detected. Regarding the examined commercial greenhouses, ToBRFV still appears to be present in Sicily, although there has been a decrease during monitoring. In experimental conditions, it was demonstrated that the presence of few infected plants are sufficient to damage the entire crop in a short time, reaching almost 100% of infection.

Highlights

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L., family Solanaceae), is one of the most important and extensively grown horticultural crops worldwide
One of the most recent and dangerous disease outbreaks on tomato crops worldwide is represented by Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)
Each sample was by 3000 seeds and subsequently

Summary

Introduction

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L., family Solanaceae), is one of the most important and extensively grown horticultural crops worldwide. And Spain are the major tomato producers in Europe, with over 5,7 million and 4,7 million tonnes, respectively [1]. Many vegetable crops, such as tomato, are constantly exposed to different biotic factors. Viruses play a fundamental role in crop management, especially when sudden and rapid outbreaks of a viral disease occur in different areas. One of the most recent and dangerous disease outbreaks on tomato crops worldwide is represented by Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)

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