Testing tomato and pepper seeds for Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) has become an urgent seed industry need because of import requirements in the European Union (EU) and many other countries.
On Oct 28, the NSHS Policies and Procedures Board approved a quantitative RT-PCR method for the detection of ToBRFV in tomato and pepper seeds, designated NSHS Method So 7.1.
NSHS-accredited labs wishing to add this method to their existing seed health testing accreditation should complete the Expansion of Scope application that can be downloaded from the NSHS website, and email the completed form to Kelly Iverson, kiverson@iastate.edu, also copying Sarika Negi, sarika.s.negi@usda.gov. A remote audit will be required once the application is received. Please contact Kelly to schedule an audit.
This method is aligned with requirements for exporting tomato and pepper seeds to the EU; other importing countries may have other requirements.
Source: NSHS