Crocus kotschyanus

J. Agoston agoston.janos123@gmail.com
Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:40:07 PDT
This is correct. We have found 2 viruses in C. kotschyanus. Iris
Severe Virus & Cucumber Mosaic Virus. Moreover I have constantly
complainig about viruses to the supplyers, they ignored me.

There is usually 1 grower for rarer items and the inspections are in
spring so the inspectors won't see any sign of infection. And the
severely infected plants won't flower. I've bought 7/8 size bulbs and
1 have flowered from the 20 or so from the infected. I also bought 5
bulbs from seed grown 3,5/+ size and all have flowered most of them
more flowers from a shoot.

While I was working in Holland I saw that they do not really care
(most of them!) about plant health, they live from the money after
selling so they sell, everything. One of the grower's association
started a campaign to let growers and people know that plants are
living, so they have to treat them like living things.

Jim is correct, most commercial stock are infected with viruses. I saw
Paeonias in Holland and most of them were infected. Especially the
Itoh-hybrids. Even tulips in Keukenhof were infected with viruses and
they don't even cared about it to pull the bad ones out. And customers
don't see the infection if the plants are dormant. And the people of
the street does not realize if the plants are sick. So you can still
raise plants from seed or buy tissue cultured plugs whose are cleand
from viruses. Of course the latter are much-much more expensive.

This topic is my favourite and I could write several pages what I have
seen but this is a public list...

Bye,
Jan,
Z5a, Hungary


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