Regabio’s Agitest Strips vs Agdia’s ImmunoStrips.

[BrassavolaStars]

Hello all,

I am going to get some virus test strips to test a few plants but I’m not quite sure what to buy.

It seems many people use ImmunoStrips from Agdia but it seems a similar looking product called Agitest from Regabio exists that is both cheaper ($56 for 6 vs $52 for 5), and is readily available to fedex from eBay.

Is there a reason to avoid the Regabio tests in favor of the Agdia ones? I have heard good things about the Agdia ones but know nothing of the Regabio tests.

I have also written to Critter Creek to request testing over their website but they have yet to respond.

[Ray]

I think they must be similar, with Agdia being a US company and Rega is from Taiwan. Rega is apparently new to the US market, so I know of no reliability feedback.

Agdia also does in-house testing if you decide to go that way.

[BrassavolaStars]

I just ended up going with a 5 pack of each. I can update with how they differ.

Hopefully nothing tests positive though I’m not optimistic with some.

I abhor throwing plants away and will probably turn them into indoor plants if they do. In other words, they’ll live out their existence in a room where no other plants are kept.

Maybe I could also give them away (explicitly saying they are Virus positive of course) to someone who doesn’t grow orchids. Then again, it seems like that could spread the disease even more so I’ll probably just make them into basement orchids or something.

It’s not like the flowers were deformed on these as I’ve seen them bloom recently so I could still possibly enjoy them

Even if they test negative, I’ll still be concerned about Orchid Flex Virus which doesn’t seem to have a test here in the U.S. that I could find. Maybe someone has insight into that?

[sam1147]

Very good both.For me Rega is much cheaper when EMS from Taiwan is operating.

[aliceinwl]

There are some heirloom orchids that are virused. If you end up with asymtomatic virused plants, giving them away or keeping them separated would seem to be viable options to me.

[Ray]

I am of the opinion that, like people, plants carry every virus to which they’ve ever been exposed. And - also just like us - they can maintain a healthy life besides, and may not succumb until some external stress tips the balance, weakening the plant.

With proper hygiene, keeping such plants should not be much of an issue.

[Roberta]

I am now using Rega - one of the members of one of our orchid clubs puts together a group order so that we can get a better price. The Rega tests have several advantages:
Smaller sample size needed (especially helpful for small plants)
Longer shelf life. 18 months vs 12 months for Agdia. No need for refrigeration. (I think they can manage this by sealing each test strip in its own package, so it can't pick up moisture)

The individual who has been putting together the order also did some parallel tests, and found the sensitivity higher.

So... both work, if you can wait for the shipping time from Taiwan (and even better, get more of them to get a price break), the Rega strips have some advantages, including price. (I just received mine from the group order, so I'm set for the year... I got a box of 50)

[Ray]

Have you considered that “more sensitive” can translate to “more false positives”, as well?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Ray

Have you considered that “more sensitive” can translate to “more false positives”, as well?

I have not had that problem. It's important to follow the instructions on sample size (1 sq cm maximum, less is OK) I have seen occasional ambiguous very faint lines. Based on correspondence with the company, it is possible that it is picking up a related virus. If I see those, I treat the plant as potentially infected, test again a few months later. Most of the time, it's a pretty definite yes or no.

[Ray]

All immunoassay tests have false positives and false negatives, don’t they?