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TMV Prevention Starts with Worker Training

Wed, Apr 5th, 2017, created by Thomas Ford

Historically when a call would come into the office about yellowing petunias I would load up my pH meter and my box of calibration solutions and would head out to the greenhouse operation to confirm the grower’s suspicion that they were having a media pH issue. Unfortunately, over the last several years the yellowing observed by growers in their petunias was not media related and instead could be linked to a virus issue in the greenhouse.

Plant viruses like Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) make even the heartiest of growers shudder since confirmation of its presence in the greenhouse can translate into the disposal of thousands of dollars of plants. Tobacco Mosaic Virus can readily be transmitted to plants through the use of contaminated pruning knives, scissors, workers’ hands, and even on workers’ clothing. While the initial source of a TMV infection could be attributed to contaminated seed or infected plugs and cuttings I seem to be visiting the same operations over and over again to deliver the same diagnosis. So, either these greenhouse operations have very bad luck or is there an underlying cause that makes these operations more susceptible to TMV infections.

In each of these operations the workforce is very transient and the owners makes no investment in training or coaching their employees. The employees smoke outside the greenhouse and never wash or sanitize their hands between handling their tobacco products and handling the plant materials. In addition, the scissors used to cut plants back are blackened with plant sap and have never been dipped in alcohol or even a bath of milk to deactivate the TMV virus.

Labor management experts state that “profitability starts with people”. This is true even when working with a transient workforce. If your workers are not trained and motivated to practice good sanitation in the greenhouse they can become the weak link in your defense against plant virus diseases like TMV. A few hours of employee training is a small investment to make when considering the ramifications of a TMV outbreak in your operation.




About the Author:

Thomas Ford

Commercial Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension

Tom has worked for over 40 years with Cooperative Extension in Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. During his career he has worked intensively with vegetable and fruit growers, greenhouse and nursery operators, landscape and turf professionals and area farmers with their production and pest management issues.

 

Tom is a native of Central Maryland and resides with his wife, Laura and their four sons in Duncansville, PA. Tom has a B.S. degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Maryland and a MBA from Frostburg State University in Frostburg, MD. Tom currently serves as a Commercial Horticulture Educator with Penn State Extension and is housed in the Cambria County Extension Office in Ebensburg, PA.

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