Steve,
Thanks for the link to the immunostrip tests - great product.
I'm not sure what ag services still exist here - they were pretty well stripped of federal funding a couple of years ago.
I would like to get some expert advice, especially as to the risk of spreading the virus when plants are still without symptoms and look fine. I usually help out at my friend's farm one day a week, but I won't be doing that if there's any risk of bringing the unseen virus along.
The plant next to the infected plant was a second one of the same seed, and not very vigorous although it wasn't showing any mosaic - I took them both out to be on the safe side.
But if the mosaic virus is very contagious and is infective before mosaic appears on the leaves, I have probably spread it to every plant in the greenhouse, since I touched every plant and went down every row just a couple of days ago collecting pollen and setting up crosses. Way too many plants and for sure there was lots of contact between the leaves and my shirt. I have no idea how long it would be before symptoms show up. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.
I collected some articles on viral treatments a couple of years ago when I had a plant with the 'shoe-stringy' symptoms of CMV, but I lost that old data when my cpu crashed this spring. I found this one today though, about salicylate... definitely worth giving the plants a booster while I wait for the signs of doom....
http://www.plantcell.org/content/9/4/547.full.pdf+html
Even if they survive, I guess I will have to get any seed from them tested, to be sure there is no transmissible virus.
