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Viricidal disinfestants for the potato cutting knife

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Summary

Thirty-second dip in calcium hydroxide, trisodium phosphate, or bentonite clay were effective in preventing knife transmission of potato virus X. Slightly less effective were mercuric chloride and sodium carbonate.

Calcium hydroxide was slightly superior to trisodium phosphate as a knife disinfestant for virus X.

Seventy per cent ethyl alcohol, alcohol plus flaming, copper sulphate, bordeaux mixture (4-4-50), boiling water, and washing the knife blade in a rapidly flowing stream of water also proved effective but none exceeded the effectiveness of calcium hydroxide.

Increasing the period of knife exposure from 15 to 60 seconds has little effect on the viricidal properties of the disinfestants.

Only slight virus activity was restored when infective sap treated with mercuric chloride was dialized for a period of 5I/2 hours.

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Peterson, L.C., Plaisted, R.L. & Diaz, J. Viricidal disinfestants for the potato cutting knife. American Potato Journal 38, 382–387 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02862378

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02862378

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