The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has intensified efforts to prevent the entry of virus-infected tomato seeds that pose a severe threat to agriculture in the country.
Increasing inspections and security measures at border crossings, officials have carried out six separate operations over the past 45 days to intercept contaminated seeds that could have entered the country, primarily from Asian nations.
Investigations revealed that these seeds carried the Tomato mottle mosaic virus (ToMMV) and the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), both of which have the potential to devastate crop production and pose health risks to consumers.
Recent seizures include virus-infected seeds originating from China on Jan. 10, Jan. 23, Feb. 10, Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, as well as from Thailand on Feb.10. All intercepted seeds were promptly returned to their countries of origin to prevent their spread within the country.
Read more at Hurriyet Daily News