Canada: Open field tomato plants with late blight sold
According to the Times & Transcript, Dr. Khalil Al-Mughrabi discovered the plants in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The veteran plant pathologist with the Potato Development Centre in Wicklow, NB alerted agriculture departments in the region. He traced the tomato plant shipment to a Nova Scotia distributor and to the Ontario and California suppliers.
Phytophthora infestans pathogen cause late blight and its spores can be windblown up to 80 kms, Dr. Al-Mughrabi explained. While not harmful to humans, late blight impacts potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and other crops.
In 2011 late blight destroyed $18 million worth of crops in the Atlantic region and $5 billion worldwide, the plant pathologist told the newspaper.
Source: www.atlanticfarmfocus.ca