Pretty crazy how big of an issue this is nowadays. Seems like it’s almost impossible to avoid.
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I agree with the premise of the article. Fwiw one of the guys quoted as an expert has a joke of a fake business in my town. I think he scammed the publisher into paying him. It’s irresponsible to tell people that the viroid spreads through seeds, which he implies by saying it is inside the seed. While that may be technically true, infected seeds either don’t sprout, or show as obvious runts right away. Growing from seed is actually the best way to avoid the viroid. The clone sellers caused this problem, not the seed sellers.
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I thought people were saying it’s in about 8% of seedlings as well on here a month or so ago?
Not saying it’s in the seeds like the quote, but 8% is still not great imo
My findings have differed @Autumn_Ridge_Hemp ive had very nice, visibly healthy with seemingly good turgor and isolated seed starts come back positive two separate times now verified by two labs. Each time its been one bean from a 10 pack. Shit is crazy. Both times from older seedstock too. All fwiw and in my experience.
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So around that 8% mark or so. That’s not great at all if that’s what others are seeing as well.
Shit is crazy!
I have bought a lot of seed packs that were not very well cleaned. Idk if that could be a factor.
A friend with a vegetable seed company treats all of his tomato seeds with a hot water bath to kill any virus material inside the seed. An immersion cooker is cheap and maintains an accurate temp. I would think hot water sterilization of cannabis seeds to be a possibility.
Afaik the viroid does not infect wild growing plants. If it does, we’re all screwed, but I suspect there is something about the natural process of seed falling to the ground and sitting until the next crop sprouts that inhibits the spread of the viroid.
Why do you say this? This is an RNA viroid - which means it can transfer in seeds. And there’s studies of it transferring in seeds in hops, so why not in cannabis?
Also - many viroids for many other diseases are spread through seeds.
Indeed for hops they are now heat treating seeds to kill off the viroid.
Seems bad science to rule out things coming from seeds, when we the disease in sister species in the seeds.
Even if its only 5-10% - that’s enough to contaminate your whole garden.
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I always pop with h2o2 I’m going to look into water sterilizing and try.
I feel like the best we have now is to test, teach, inform spread knowledge, lessen the load count by utilizing appropriate practices and culling. Otherwise I suspect between this and the other pathogens in hops that can make the jump anytime to cannabis if it already hasn’t at some level we’re all fucked eventually unless we band together like other industries to help stop the spread.
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It got it off of a toilet seat, IT’S NOT MY FAULT.
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The guy they interviewed is a fake expert. I just happen to know that by coincidence.
There are “studies that suggest” it may spread by seed, but representing that as a fact is not good science. There may be other factors as simple as seeds contaminated with plant matter through poor cleaning. I find it nearly impossible to believe that a seed borne illness can decimate cannabis, after it not happening for 24 million years. There’s something in the natural process of replication from seed that prevents the viroid from taking over. It’s probably simple and not profitable to sell.
And forgive my pessimism, but I don’t trust anyone with a financial agenda, no matter how many degrees they have. The people telling us that lab work will save the day are the same ones selling the lab work.
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if you dont have a pcr and arent doing tests on big grows its all conjecture
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Hops have been around for a really really long time. We didn’t have seed borne HLV in hops until like 50 years ago. Why are we having it now? In some cases, these are hops plants that have existed in permaculture for generations… and now no longer produce.
Here’s the first study that my Google Fu found about HLV in seeds - at the time they wanted to use this to breed out the possibility of HLV because if you can identify what allowing the viroid to thrive and transfer, you can prevent it. GMO Hops. GMO cannabis? Soon, promise, soon!
Here’s another one that discusses a broad range of viroids including HLV in hops being present in seeds. It has excellent references to other studies.
I found two from 20 years ago which said not in seeds (less than 2% anyway) but definitely in pollen. And another study which says really its transferred by thrips and mites (things that bite the plant).
So maybe its because we’re open pollenating cannabis for the first time in a long time. Maybe because where doing it in areas that also grow HOPS (like Colorado). Maybe its because California thought it was brilliant to spray RUSSET MITES all over the highways to help combat forest fires, and that then spread all over the place through trucks and what not.
We can blame all kinds of stuff. But acting like its just from clones seems short sighted. Certainly that won’t help people eliminate or prevent all issues. I know people who’ve only ever grown from seeds that have HLV now. They didn’t get it from a shitty clone. They got it from somewhere else - and now they have to do prevention like everyone else.
So if we all do the prevention with systemics and use clean tools and monitor for pest issues and don’t take clones from plants that had pests on them and give plants enough space to live regardless of where our plants came from - then we might all have a better chance of stopping the spread.
It feels like people telling me they don’t need to wear condoms because their boyfriends aren’t gay back in the 90s. No really - use condoms so you don’t get sick. x.X everyone can do the prophylactic things and then maybe we can help each other slow the progression of the disease down.
Cause the worst part is - the more its in hops and cannabis, the more opportunity it has to move to other crops. And we can all be sad that we don’t get to have beer or weed. But what about when you don’t get to have vegetables or fruits - cause we all mismanaged our outdoor grows or how we were transporting things from state to state without caring for the pests and diseases we might be bringing to new areas. -sigh-
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You just gotta beat HLVD like magic beat aids
He swapped his blood a gagillion times. We cat meristem after meristem after meristem. Eventually no viroid in the newest of cells.
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I thought he was injected with 180,000 dollars and that’s what cured him.
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Wut? What tf was the reasoning behind that?
To kill invasive weeds on the side of the highway I believe. If you believe that I have a bridge for sale in SF.
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Well that’s stupid
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