For many fruiting-vegetable growers, it is once again time for the annual deep clean of the greenhouse. In other words, it is crop-change season. With today's persistent pressure from pests and diseases, that cleaning step has become more important than ever. Tomato growers especially are doing everything they can to keep Tomato brown rugose fruit virus, or ToBRFV, out of their greenhouses. But how to be sure that all that cleaning has actually worked? How do you know your greenhouse is truly free of ToBRFV?
Past infections or even traces of residual genetic material can sometimes trigger a positive test result, even if no intact, living virus particles are present. With Spark Radar's updated Water Scan, growers now receive a positive result only when intact virus particles are detected, says Rogier van der Voort of Spark Radar. "As far as we know, we are the first in the world who can show within a few hours whether ToBRFV is actively present in water. That is the key point and exactly what everyone wants to know. Is my location clean and free of a threatening virus or not? That is what growers worry about during a crop change. Growers have told us from the start that the moment we had this test ready, they would start using it immediately." That moment has now arrived.
In recent years, Spark Radar has been making strong progress with horticultural test kits. Partners Rogier van der Voort and Bas Rutjens are committed to developing tests that anyone can run, that are robust, reliable and user-friendly, and that deliver fast results. The new water test is the latest in a series of practical diagnostic kits designed for horticulture.
© Spark RadarRogier van der Voort and Bas Rutjens, founders of Spark Radar
Results within 3 hours
In practice, growers simply do not have time to wait for laboratory results, Spark Radar notes. When the greenhouse has been thoroughly cleaned during the crop change, young plants need to go in quickly. Time is money. With Spark Radar's new water test, growers can now immediately see whether intact virus particles, such as ToBRFV, are present in the water, meaning they can distinguish between "dead" virus material and active, "live" virus. "We offer an alternative to the bioassay, where growers have to wait weeks for results."
The water test has already been trialed with a grower in France and with several growers in the Netherlands. Rogier says, "With our test, you have results within three hours."
© Spark RadarSpark Radar test kit
Development continues
Now that ToBRFV no longer has Q-status in Europe, Spark Radar finds it easier to carry out field testing directly with growers. "It is a win-win situation. Together with growers we can fine-tune and verify our tests. With all the experience we have built up, we can also respond quickly if a new virus or bacterium appears. Our test kits are designed exactly for that purpose."
As an example of rapid development, Rogier mentions the Multi Leaf Scan for detecting cucumber green mottle mosaic virus in leaf material. "The test is almost the same as the ToBRFV test, only the leaf tissue behaves differently. We went straight into practice trials, and with growers' feedback we were able to adjust the method so it works reliably with cucumber leaves as well."
Spark Radar's new water test, initially developed for ToBRFV, will be available from early October.
For more information:
Rogier van der Voort
Spark Radar
Padualaan 8
3584 CH Utrecht
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.sparkradar.bio
