A Netherlands-based company has developed and is providing growers in Ontario, other parts of Canada, the U.S. and Europe with an on-site testing kit for destructive pathogens including the fast-spreading ToBRFV.
Spark Radar's Rogier van der Voort explained the company's approach in an interview with Ontario Farmer.
"We developed a fast and highly sensitive detection tool that will allow breeders and growers to test for presence of pathogens at their facility. Our tool is the first to offer customers fast and reliable on-site testing, which dramatically reduces the time frame between sampling of potentially infected material and test results (from days or even weeks to less than an hour)."
In 2021, the company started developing a test with those specific qualities. The main need was for a test that could quickly detect Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus or ToBRFV. ToBRFV is an aggressive virus that can leave wrinkled spots on fruits like tomatoes and peppers, first discovered abroad in 2014.
This pathogen can be a "potential company killer" if it is not gotten under control so the sooner it's detected, the sooner damage can be limited and growers can regain control of their crop, he said.
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