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Disease Control and Pest Management

A Serodiagnostic Technique for Detecting Cymbidium Mosaic and Odontoglossum Ringspot Viruses. G. C. Wisler, Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611; F. W. Zettler(2), and D. E. Purcifull(3). (2)(3)Professors, respectively, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611. Phytopathology 72:835-837. Accepted for publication 11 November 1981. Copyright 1982 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-72-835.

A serodiagnostic technique for cymbidium mosaic (CyMV) and odontoglossum ringspot (ORSV) viruses was developed based on an immunodiffusion test. Antisera with titers of 1/8 were obtained with immunogens that were either nondegraded (for CyMV only) or degraded by boiling in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) containing 0.1% 2-mercaptoethanol (for CyMV and ORSV). A relatively high virus incidence in mature, cultivated orchids was found (27% of 1,328 samples representing 17 genera), but no infection was detected in any of the 438 samples collected from their native habitats (11 genera from 21 old- and new-world locations), nor in 231 seedling orchids. Seroassays were used successfully by three orchid growers.