How long an exposure to what temperature is required to kill HpLVd? I’ve been using isopropyl, on the assumption that it kills pretty much anything exposed to it; apparently that’s not the case. I don’t take clones often, but it’d be nice to have some assurance that I’m not spreading any viroids that might sneak in.
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10-20 seconds in a flame or a bead sterilizer should be fine. I’d aim for something over 200 degrees F. You are really aiming to denature/kill anything bad. I have a gas cooktop and used to use that you flame 3-4 pair at a time.
Here is a $30 fix: Amazon.com
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Gotcha. I’ll probably use a sand bath instead, already have that handy for RSO… 200F is no problem, it’s free and it won’t leave the clippers discolored. Thanks for the response, for some reason among all the info out there I couldn’t find anything on Google about this simple question. 
Will any of these 200 ish degree cleaning methods melt the plastic handles on fiskers scissors ??
For now and since I don’t clone all the time I will just use bleach and alcohol rinsed and followed by putting my scissors in a 9” square baking pan and heating up a tea kettle and pouring the tea kettle over the scissors. I have access to real surgical one use scalpel’s as well.
I have nkt experienced any melting. All of my fiskars and chikamasa snippers are all fine but I will admit that I now only use the latter since they last longer. The plastic handles are hard as opposed to the softer rubber coated fiskars.
Also, just a heads up for those following along at home. 200 degree metal WILL bburnthe shit out of you and your plant. Let the blades cool or dip them into water if you are impatient.
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I also have a couple pair of the chickamasa made in Japan scissors. Like ‘‘em but fiskars still end up as my fav trimming tool.
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Don’t know if there is a clear answer but is there a list of clone vendors on Strainly that have tested and verified all their offerings? Surely Dark Heart and MAYBE PurpleCity but once a third party receives them to post up for sale they could possibly be contaminated by something else the vendor has. Curious to see going forward if clone vendors willingly test their stock and promote it as an additional selling point. Those who do will have an advantage that helps buyers feel more comfortable spending with a particular vendor.
I have seen some 3rd party vendors like 1st class genetics and pink box posting pictures of hplvd test results.
Testing will be the new norm for everyone moving forward. I advise my clients to test 5x-6x per year. A clean plant should test negative that many times per annum. 5x is considered a standard for the stone fruit industry.
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I have bought from PinkBox before and feel comfortable doing so in the future. On IG they said they are in process of doing that very thing. I made a mistake last fall of buying a clone off a small and now gone vendor and paid a dear price when it came with mites and PM, contaminated everything I held. My fault for not quarantine it well enough but that’s a different subject. What I have now I have gotten and is pest free and seemingly PM mold free post Eagle 20 on everything as a precaution. I only need one more thing I had to cull and it came from PinkBox but isn’t available for at the moment. I will wait and then go back and test what will be 6 moms and I don’t think I will be bringing in anything else for quite a while. If I do it will absolutely have to be from a trusted vendor. Maybe retest a few months after and my moms will never come close to untested plants.
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Hey y’all, Im running some Tangie F2s I received from a giveaway here and suspect I have a problem… looking for some advice, including just tossing these if this is an obvious infection. Never seen this before in my small personal garden and have only ever grown from seed, never outside plants.
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One thought reading through this thread. One of the sources said they had a 30% positive rate for HLVd and from that data concluded that they think 30% of grows are infected…
But there is almost certainly a strong bias in the samples that are sent in for testing… I would assume many/most samples sent in for testing are from “problem” plants and grows, to confirm an existing suspicion.
It would be really interesting to see the results from a large and random sampling of grows.
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Carrying a small propane/butane torch to sanitize tools between plants when working with large plant counts. Carrying 2 sets let’s one cool down while you use the other. Quality cutters are a must, the torch will cook off the fake titanium coating on 10$ Amazon pruners real quick.
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Variegation like that can be caused by many environmental or even genetics. But there are mosaic viruses that do infect cannabis, don’t know if they pass through seeds.
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I attend local monthly cultivator networking events and went again last night. The guy I invited works for a very large mixed light cultivation company. (Think 18 x 60000 plants)
I ALWAYS ask this direct question. “What tool sanitizing protocols do you have in place?”
He told me he visually sees the dudding and told me they use two buckets, one with 10% bleach and another with ISO 99%. I had to tell him that wasn’t always going to work and he said he thought their aphids were the problem. !!
There was a woman that sat down and chatted us up so I asked her too. She runs the veg and mom room for her company. Her response was 10 minute soak in Virkon. That’s the correct answer.
@Orison is correct, heat works immediately and is 100% effective. I keep a glass bead sterilizer with 4-5 pairs of scissors in my nursery. I pull a pair from the front and return them to the back. A pair of scissors is NEVER in there less than 10 minutes. NEVER EVER.
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@SCJedi I’ve heard of Virkon spoken about before, do you have experience with it? does it work as a cleaner and a sanitizer? The torch really gives piece of mind, but it’s not exactly the best at removing sap/resin buildup when defoliating.
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I do have experience with virkon. I like the simplicity if dropping a tablet in water and knowing it’s ready when the color changes. The trick isn’t necessarily the 10+ minute soak but to take them out and allowing them to air dry. That’s the time consuming part.
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What would you do if you saw that variegation in your garden? Am I safe to curiously explore here, or is this a kill-it-with-fire sort of protocol?
Don’t want to uncork a genie I can’t get back in the bottle if the best course of action is a swift trip to the waste bin.
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A few plants of mine will have variegated leaves if I over watered them, or when my tent got over 90f for a day. It’s usually just on the leaves that were developing during the stressful event. Also, I’ve had some cuttings that were kept too humid in the domes, and though they didn’t mold (or mold much) they still grew out a bit mutated, like a reveg.
If all leaves have it, i it could even be in genetics, some people look for that from an ornamental point of view.
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Hlvd typically expresses itself under conditions of stress.
I had a wonderful conversation last night with a local DNA lab that is currently studying how many cuttings you can safely take off of a mother plant before it becomes susceptible, or expresses, hvld symptoms due to that stressor.
As a precaution, my recommendation would be to test plant material when you see these types of phenotypic expressions arise.
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Sorry, not sure I answered your question directly.
In short, if you have genetics that are valuable (subjective metrics apply) then test 5x per year. Add cliche: Better safe than sorry.
If you have symptoms, then test but ALWAYS treat all plants as if they are infected. No sharing tools unless fully sterilized!!
If a plant tests positive then a cost-benefit analysis needs to be done to decide whether to cull it, or to attempt to remediate it.
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