Virus testing - a solution is available!!!
I am so excited....
Finally there is now a reliable, simple and easy to use test available which will determine if Pleione Flower Breaking Virus (PlFBV) and Poty-Y are present in Pleione, without having to see the plant in flower.
If you have been following my blogs over the last few months you will recall that I have been working towards developing a test which will allow Pleione growers to test plant material to determine if a plant has PlFBV which has become a major issue in recent years. There has been much talk about plant material being supplied which was 'infected' but no reliable method of actually testing - this has changed!.
I have learned a great deal about the virus, its habits and methods of transmission in the last year. I have learned that the virus can lie undetected in a plant, showing no outward symptoms, I have learned that the virus can start and manifest itself after only 21 days following transmission to a new host, I have learned that there are many other factors, too numerous to mention right here which can impact on a plant and its ability to do battle with the virus.
If you are reading this and have had a the same hot weather I have had in the North West of the UK you will know that it has been a struggle to keep temperatures down around plants. High temperatures and low humidity stress the plants, this stress could make the plant more susceptible to becoming symptomatic and showing the outward signs of infection, which may have been previously dominated by a healthy plant in a stress free environment.
I have been testing my own plants, and material sent to me by others concerned about plant health and this led to the shipping of material to the US for more scientific testing and analysis. the outcome of this has been most positive.
The good folks at Agdia have confirmed that there is a testing solution available, there is actually three, depending on the level of detail you wish to go into. The one that is most attractive to use as growers is the very simple to use ImmunoStrip® Tests which clearly and simply, in as little as five minutes provide an answer. The other two are more specific and focus and require more Lab conditions to perform.
I have had a few comments around the cost of these kits, mostly that people will not use them unless they are 'cheap' (not a word I would use BTW). Cheap denotes poor quality and is almost never used in a positive manner - cheap date (not good), cheap shot, (bit rude really), cheap looking (never a compliment) cheap AND nasty (neither are positive) and so on.....
No, the tests are not cheap, what they are is affordable and reliable, and this balanced against the investment of time and money in a collection of prized, loved plants, often built up over many years is not much at all. I certainly will be continuing to test the plants I go and supply to others.
There is unfortunately now a difficult fork in the road for us all - test our plants and act on the results, which may mean destroying plants which we have had for years to ensure that all infected plants are eliminated in our collections, or the other option is to do nothing. One option allows us all to try and get a handle on this disease, the other doesn't, its a simple as that. I have binned a few old favourites, and a couple of new ones, but I want to ensure that my collection is a free from virus as possible.
There is no cure for the virus so all we can do is weed out those plants that are infected, this is exactly what happens in other areas of agriculture, Bovine TB being an example of where animals tested positive are 'removed'.
I must be very clear as I draw to a close on this blog. I am not an employee of Agdia, I have no financial interest in Agdia or their products and I am in no way paid by them for anything I have done or said. I have worked with them to develop a test for the wider Pleione growing community, I have funded all the tests myself up to this point.
All I want is for a reliable and simple test to be available for Pleione growers, to try and reduce the impact that PlFBV and Poty-Y is having on the hobby. I cant make anyone use this but the option is there....
Links to the products below and please email me if you want more of the background info on what has got me to this point. The technical information on the link below has not yet been updated to show the inclusion of PlFBV as one of the tests but I am assured that it will be soon, I just could not wait to tell people... Please share this blog with others and spread the good word, its been a long time in coming.
Happy growing.
Stu
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