Calling on suppliers to do the right thing

There are many lessons for the NZ fresh tomato industry to learn from what has happened in Australia in the last 10 months since Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus was first detected in South Australia. One lesson is that every part of the sector has a role to play in biosecurity. This starts with the seeds that are imported, continues with the nurseries that are used to propagate those seeds, and then everyone that provides services to those that nurture the plants to grow the tomatoes NZers love to eat.

In the last few months, TNZ has been working with the organisation that looks after nurseries (NZPPI – NZ Plant Producers) to draw up a list of hygiene guidelines that nurseries should incorporate into their management systems. This includes offering testing for pathogens if a customer asks for it. While this guidance is undergoing a review, you the grower can already ask for your seedlings to be tested for ToBRFV. This could be a plant material test or a water sample test. Doing this before your seedlings are released to you, will allow some assurance that the seedlings you plant in your greenhouses are ToBRFV free.

We then call on all of those that offer services to our growers to do the right thing – whether you’re a transport provider delivering those seedlings, dropping off crates or picking up plant material waste or taking tomatoes to market; you might be an electrician, a plumber or boiler maintenance specialist; maybe your service is offering advice to growers on nutrient management or crop protection; perhaps you deliver bees to our growers to ensure the vital pollination of the flowers – we thank you for the services that you provide to our growers but ask that you do so in a way that considers the biosecurity threats that our industry faces. Please don’t ask to go inside the greenhouse. Where possible transport drivers shouldn’t leave their vehicles – if you do have to, as a minimum, please use a clean pair of disposable overshoes and gloves. Have a safe place, away from the greenhouse and packing shed to leave deliveries; can a meeting between a rep and a grower happen off-site?