I know that viruses are spread through wounds and sucking insects but do viruses stay alive in the soil or infect the soil? Second, according to ABAD's virus info, bleach does not kill viruses. They reccommend boiling tools 5 minutes and they state that you should wash hands frequently with strong soap. My question is, how will washing hands with strong soap kill the virus when bleach will not kill it and it takes boiling water to sterialize tools? I don't think my hands can take boiling water for 5 minutes everytime I move from working with one plant to the other.LOL I have been using small gas grill lighter to heat my tools but how do you keep your hands steril? Any help from you pros would be appreciated.
Barbara
Life of virus
Barbara, Purel makes a hand sanitizer with alcohol. I use it in the greenhouse and also carry it in my purse. If we are traveling and stop to get something to eat I use it if I have handled money.It's hard for me to believe that bleach will not kill the virus. We used it in the nursing dept. where I worked to sterilize many things from blood spills to contaminated instruments.I know it kills human viral germs so why would'nt it kill a plant virus? It doesn't seem logical that someone is going to stop after trimming a plant and boil their cutters for 5 minutes before going to trim the next plant.To be honest, I keep a large bottle of alcohol in the GH with cotton balls and I wipe my cutters with the alcohol in between plants.Would love to hear what others do in their greenhouses.
Snow, I leave all my small transplanting tools soaking in bleach except my felco pruners which I wipe with bleach after each use. I think the bleach will kill most viruses. I think we all know that brugs have viruses and just need to keep the plants as healthy as possible. Yours look great. Boiling for 5 minutes between plants would take all day and we'd probably end up spilling boiling water on ourselves. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
I guess I'm in the bleach group. I keep a glass of bleach in the GH. I really should switch to alcohol - my clothes are taking a beating. It's a good thing that polka dots were in last year - LOL
Denatured alcohol (or rubbing alcohol for that matter) WILL kill viruses. I can't believe that she said bleach doesn't kill germs, because after using an autoclave, bleach is the next best disinfectant. Sunshine is a great disinfectant too.
I prefer alcohol, I can't stand the smell of bleach.
As for the life of a virus, it varies, but none can live for extended periods without a living host. They MUST have a living host to multiply.
Well it looks like we're a pretty sterile bunch. LOL.
I think it's safe to say if we keep up with our bleach and or alcohol our Brugs will stay virus free.
BTW Barbara, you can buy the Purel Hand Sanitizer right in WalMart. It has moisturizer in it so your hands don't get dry.
Snow, I like the Purel too, it's not as drying as some of the others. You can also buy lotion with sanitizer in it. I have extremly dry skin and like the ones with moisterizer.
Another thing to keep in mind, other plants can have viruses, so I have tools that are only used on the brugs, just in case the alcohol isn't enough, lol.
Most of all of the brugs available ALREADY harbor certain virus's they just don't cause apprecible damage until the right conditions occur.So to think all our collections are virus free is to mislead ourselves. With virus so easily transmitted by insects(it only takes one whitefly or worse yet an aphid to transmit it)that to have a virus free collection is next to impossible. As long as my plants are not deformed or dying..I don't worry so much about them.Certain massively destructive virus aren't here yet (potyvirus) and we better hope it never gets into our collections. Monika do you concur??:-)
I fully agree with you, Kyle! Brugmansias, cultivated outside, do not stay free. Even if someone would consider to raise free stock out of seeds, the question will be: how long are they going to stay free? We cannot make one way signs for pests all around our garden fences. (They might laugh themselves to death). For myself, I never had a destructive virus in my collection, but I do not take any chances by avoiding to trade with people, that care less about it than I do and by destroying any plant, that shows signs of weakness. To be truthful, I keep my collection CLOSED. That means, I trade only with Mme Blin. She is doing the same, destroying every plant, that does not look healthy to her.
Monika, Thats agreat policy...I destroy any that look ill or have problems growing or blooming..deformed parts of any kind can be virused so out they go.....But Totally virus free..I don't think anyone can claim that.Only lab tests can be 100% sure..then as Monika and I say..if it goes outdoors..its exposed..even to virus that affect tomatoes peppers,and tobacco mosaic.
Eclipse, Thrips are everywhere and they are some of the worst carriers of virus(es) and INSV and TSWV are also prevalent as is cucumber mosaic. I would think that having a virus free plant outdoors is next to impossible. I destroy anything that looks like a virus, but keep in mind that chemicals, mechanical damage, nutrient defeciencies/toxicity and also overheating can cause deformed/spotted leaves. I usually try to figure out what may have caused the problem first, before I trash the plant, but I do isolate anything suspicious.
I agree that having a virus free plant outdoors is next to impossible. But is the soil infected where a plant is growing which has a virus? I know that insects, the plants,and humans can tranfer the virus but does it live in the soil once the plant is removed?
Barbara, I'm not sure about that, but do know that viruses need a living organism to survive. Even on your hands and tools, their lifespan is limited, so would think that in the soil it would be too.
Bward as far as I have ever heard..a virus has to be on a host quickly or it dies.they feed on the host .I wouldn't think it would live in the soil for very long at all.A fungus..now thats another story..they can live over dormant in the soil until ahost arrives.
:-)