Greenhouse Sanitation: Efficacy of Disinfectants on Cutting Blades Using Tobacco mosaic virus on Petunia as a Model
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Date
2008-12
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Petunias (Petunia x hybrida) are one of the most popular ornamental crops in the United States. In the early 1990’s, the introduction of asexually propagated petunias into the landscape market was associated with increased reports of virus infections, including Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), which is transmitted mechanically. In greenhouses, TMV can be transferred to cutting tools, subsequently infecting healthy stock plants and cuttings. An outbreak of TMV in a greenhouse can quickly spread and devastate entire crops, rendering them unsalable. During vegetative propagation, multiple cuttings are taken from one mother stock plant and multiple stock plants are commonly used. Tool disinfection is critical in preventing the spread of pathogens during this process. At this time, there is no disinfectant that is labeled for greenhouse use against plant viruses with a reasonable contact time.
Commercially available disinfectants and other materials were tested at varying concentrations and contact times to determine the most effective treatments to reproducibly prevent transmission of TMV to healthy plants. Two cultivars of petunia plantlets were tested with eight treatments by dipping razor blades in TMV-contaminated plant sap, then the disinfectant, then making a cut on a healthy plant. Post-inoculation, the petunias were sampled and tested for TMV by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA). Based on these results, the four most effective treatments were used in a trial to more closely simulate vegetative propagation.
All treatments tested reduced incidence of TMV infection from contaminated razor blades. The most effective one-minute disinfectant treatments in these studies were: 20% non-fat dry milk, 20% non-fat dry milk plus surfactant, 1:10 household bleach, and 1% Virkon®S.
Description
Winner, 2008 CFAES Undergraduate Research Competition, Plant Sciences Division
Presented at International (Brazil) University Undergraduate Research Exchange
Presented at International (Brazil) University Undergraduate Research Exchange
Keywords
Tobacco mosaic virus, greenhouse, floriculture, Petunia, sanitation, propagation