Of 14 reedstemmed Epis I brought with me from California 5 years ago, 1, an Epicatt, was negative, 7 were positive for both CMV and ORSV, 4 for ORSV only, and 2 for CMV only. But 2 of the ones listed as having both, had a second test (a different division of each) that tested positive only for CMV. ORSV may be an iffy test. One of the CMV plants was Epiphronitis Veitchii. I had an opportunity to test a couple of other clones of this hybrid (one of which may have been a long separated division of the same plant as mine), and both tested positive for CMV. Of the Reedstemmed plants purchased more recently, about half tested positive with results similar to the above. I have not tested anything in the last year, and hope to do my own testing in the future with a high power light microscope looking for viral inclusion bodies. I have all the equipment, the chemicals, the test plants (I am maintaining most of the virused plants in a bay window in my home), but not the time to delve into this new and very complex process.
If anyone would like to look into this technique, you can look at the Oct '86 AOS bulletin, or check out this site: http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/pdc/Inclusionpage/Howto.html But trust me, in this day and age, the chemicals are NOT easy to come by. The companies that sell them will not ship to a home address, only a business. And I am sure a very good microscope would be needed, as well as info from both of the sources above. Expect to spend a thousand for the microscope, and another for the chemicals and supplies. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
