Could these streaks on phal leaf be a sign of virus?

[ramonypony]

This is Phal Brother Sara Gold, it has never grown well, the roots prematurely stop growing and the leaves are weird. This newest leaf shows some funny streaks. It's not sunburn, definitely streaky and it grew out of the crown like this. When I got the plant the oldest leaf had some black pits/spots that I cut off. Could these things mean a virus?

[Joseia]

Maybe its just me, but I don't see an image.

Never mind, the image popped up after I posted my comment!

[wintergirl]

As for a virus, it doesn't look like what you would typically expect. The only way to know for sure is to do a test. It almost looks like the leaf is drying out, or even mite damage from the way the picture looks.

[Leafmite]

How long have you had it? I usually do take into consideration how vigorously a plant is growing as to whether a virus is a possibility. However, Phals can be slow growers and even slower if they are not exactly happy.
If I have given an orchid the right culture and it still does not grow well, I begin to be suspicious. If markings show up, out it goes, no test necessary.
However, those streaks can be caused by a number of issues, as already noted. I would keep it isolated from other plants for now.

[ramonypony]

I've had it about 11 months. No mites- it grew out this way, the streaking was always there. The leaves are firm and the roots are good enough, so I doubt it's a dehydration thing. Brother Sara Gold was the first orchid I ever bought and killed and I got this one to replace it. *sigh* I think I'm done trying with them. I've never tested for virus before, can someone direct me to where I can get a kit? If they're too expensive I'll probably just give up and trash it.

[My Green Pets]

Tough call. I agree with above - if the plant seems to grow especially slowly or gets smaller and smaller, could be plagued. But some plants are infected and manage to grow pretty normally. Some wise words I have read before were that lots of cultivated orchids have some kind of infection, and there are more viruses than just the common ORSV/CymMV.

I wouldn't trash it unless you just plain don't like it.

[euplusia]

When the roots are bad, the growth of leaves can easily suffer.
I have carried out some virus tests on a few of my Phalaenopsis plants in January and was surprised how many tests were positive for one or two viruses. However some of my plants are growing strong and the leaves don't show any symptoms.
In my personal experience there is nearly no correlation between leaf symptoms, vigorous growth and virus carrier status.