Your Stance of Virus Testing ......
So what's your stance on virus testing?
As my law Professor liked to start off his horrendous hypotheticals with,
"Suppose for the purposes of argument," or when he was in a particularly foul mood, "Assuming, arguendo..."
......You were interested in buying some pricey divisions from a reputable orchid vendor. So, you call and ask if they offer virus testing and they flatly told you NO.
Which, in my mind, prompts several questions:
1) are we too concerned about viruses? I mean, these *are* plants were are talking about, and I think organic matter is going to contain diseases.
2) would you buy from said vendor????? The vendor informed me that there are more than 30 viruses in orchids, and UNLESS one used a very sophisticated method of testing, the current test gives too many false positives. Therefore, he does not virus test. Period.
I then asked him if he were willing to test for the two most common forms of viruses, and he flat out refused. He informed me that even if the plants were virused, it doesn't affect the quality of the blooms.
He also informed me that they are very careful, and that they don't reuse pots, change gloves every time they repot, use sterile cutting tools. And, the conversation ended by, "if you are so concerned about this, then don't buy from me."
I understand that some orchids *are* virused, but more often than not, the vendor flat out says, "Hey, this historical division tested positive for virus x, y, z, but it's a historical division. Do you still want it."
So, fellow orchid geeks--what is your stance on this issue? WWYD?
(I posted this on the Catt alliance forum and not on the general forum because my experience has solely been with Catt/ Laelia divisions).
M-
|
Threaded Mode
