Health Testing

Healthy and vigorous propagating material produces healthy flowers, trees and vegetables. Seeds, plants and trees that show no visible abnormalities may still have quality defects or carry damaging viruses, bacteria, fungi or other pathogens.

Laboratory testing gives certainty regarding the quality of propagating material. Naktuinbouw Laboratories has all the knowledge, facilities and test tools to provide this assurance. If laboratory techniques are not sufficient, test plants are used to detect pathogens and for diagnostic purposes.

Testing for viruses

Around 80 different viruses in floricultural and arboculture crops can be detected using the fast ELISA test. ELISA is a solid, reliable and relatively inexpensive technique. Tests using indicator plants or PCR are also possible. These are only performed on leaf material.

Other tests

Seed and propagating material can be tested for the presence of viroids using the very latest molecular techniques (Realtime PCR, PCR and PAGE).

Testing for fungi

Tests for fungi usually use the plating method, combined with microscopic identification. New DNA-techniques are used for sensitive detection of, for example Fusarium strains in cyclamen and begonia. Soil samples can also be tested for fungi, for example for Verticillium dahliae and Fusarium oxysporum spp.

Testing for bacteria and phytoplasmas

Testing of seed and propagating material for bacterial diseases can be done using various methods, such as plating, pathogenicity testing, immunofluorescence (IF) and PCR. Phytoplasmas are identified using a sensitive ‘nested PCR-technique’.

Contact

For any questions about testing or to submit samples for testing, please contact: Laboratory Health Testing