In 2022, the Working Party on Phytosanitary Regulation decided to not recommend the addition of tomato mottle mosaic virus (ToMMV) to the EPPO List of pests recommended for regulation for the time being, and therefore to not propose risk management options. 

Entry: The likelihood of entry was considered as high with a moderate uncertainty, the highest ratings being seeds of tomato and Capsicum, and plants for planting (except seeds and pollen) of tomato and Capsicum. Transfer is less likely if the cultivar carries the resistance genes above. However a small portion of the plants may still become infected (see section 2.7).

Establishment: The likelihood of establishment of ToMMV was rated high for outdoors in the EPPO region where host plants are grown (with a moderate uncertainty). Under protected conditions, the likelihood of establishment was assessed to be moderate (with a moderate uncertainty), because of the wide use of resistant cultivars, and because establishment in protected conditions does not appear to have happened to date.

The magnitude of spread was rated moderate with a high uncertainty. The pest could spread locally by natural dispersal within a production area or more widely via human-assisted mechanical transmission by workers, visitors, tools and equipment as well as with the trade of plants for planting, seed and fruit.

Impact (economic and social) was rated moderate with a moderate uncertainty. Fresh fruit production (in protected crops or in the field) is more likely to be affected, as well as sites producing hybrid seed in the field. However, impact on tomato and Capsicum will depend mostly on the susceptibility of cultivars that are being grown in EPPO countries. Resistant cultivars may not be used in all types of crops and throughout EPPO countries. The direct impact (yield losses, additional crop protection costs) may be low in areas where nearly all tomato crops carry the Tm-2² resistance gene and not different from that of ToMV. However, while a real resistance break has not been shown to date, in one case, ToMMV was reported to be the causal agent for a disease outbreak on tomato cultivars with the Tm-2² gene, and there is some evidence that high temperatures may help to cause expression of symptoms in some Tm-2² cultivars.

The EWG noted that information is lacking regarding the current situation of ToMMV in the EPPO region (see sections 6 and 15). The EWG recommended that ToMMV-specific testing is performed on field samples and seed banks to verify the situation. This recommendation and others are detailed in section 18.