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dougald_gw

HVX Revisited

dougald_gw
11 years ago

I had a number of hostas which had the telltale HVX symptoms ... a total of 9 in all in 4 distinct groups. There were two groups of 3 where in each group a plant had been split ... these were Gold Standard. There were two Stained Glass ... and then a single Guacamole. All appeared to have the streaking along the veins and the mottled leaves.

Since this was my first experience with HVX, I ordered the test strips to be certain. The tests showed that all the Gold Standard and the Guacamole were HVX positive as suspected. But surprisingly both Stained Glass came out negative.

My conclusion was that while observation is of course the essential first step in detecting HVX, there is no substitution for testing to avoid being fooled.

Comments (10)

  • Jon 6a SE MA
    11 years ago

    Doug,

    Do you have any pictures? If so, they may help demonstrate your point and also help us understand how difficult it is to distinguish HVX.

    Jon

  • Steve Massachusetts
    11 years ago

    Here's a Hosta that I tested for HVX which came out negative.

    It obviously has a virus, but not HVX. Perhaps it has Impatiens Necrotic Spotted Virus or maybe Tomato Ringspot. I dug it up and threw it in the trash along with a good amount of soil. I'm going to try planting in this hole next Spring.

    BTW, this is not in my garden, but in one that I take care of.

    Steve

  • Jon 6a SE MA
    11 years ago

    It is extremely difficult to determine HVX without testing. HVX can be controlled with good sanitation and isolation and killing of the host hosta tissue.

    Other viruses, in my opinion, are far more dangerous as they can be transmitted by nematodes, thrips and maybe other insects while HVX cannot according to all the experimentation done to date. Given a choice, I would far prefer HVX to some of the more easily transmitted viruses which, no matter how sanitary your procedures are can spread easily. All these viruses are, without exemption, deadly.

    I am not trying to minimize the problem of HVX. It is a serious problem that we should be very much aware of. I am only trying to put it in the proper prospective.

    Jon

  • dougald_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Here are some pictures. First a hosta that seemed to me clearly to have HVX and it did test positive

    Next a less obvious hosta which tested positive.

    And lastly, a plant which tested negative but which to my eye appeared to have the symptoms.

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    11 years ago

    I don't see any funny stuff in your last photo. What made you suspicious?

    -Babka

  • dougald_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The leaf veins with streaking ... similar to the second last one

  • dougald_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    babka ... maybe I'm just paranoid now :)

  • hosta_freak
    11 years ago

    The first two of Gold Standard are positive for HVX;the last one looks like a normal Gold Standard in a lot of sun,to me.( I have a lot of Gold Standards),15 to be exact. Phil

  • dougald_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    That's just it Phil ... 2 hours late afternoon sun is all it gets ... and here in the north we dont get any weather above 90F ...

    However, I probably can now see HVX in any hosta after all this!

  • ctopher_mi
    11 years ago

    I see at least one suspicious spot in the last picture too. It may be possible that part of the plant is infected but it hasn't spread through the whole clump yet, or the concentration of virus could still be too low to get a positive test. Consider the last one as a potential infected plant too.

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