I’m Doug Overstreet, orchid specialist for the Thornton Conservatory, Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.  The collection I oversee consists entirely of awarded, historic or very rare orchid plants in a number of genera.  All of the plants have a very historic and high dollar value and it is important to preserve the plants for the future and to keep them in prime health.  As we all know, viral diseases will debilitate and eventually kill orchid plants.  It is extremely important to know the infection status of every plant in the collection and to mitigate the spread of viral diseases by proper management.

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In order to determine the status of a plant, it is necessary to test the plant for the presence of virus, either by an immunologic assessment or by cellular examination under an electron microscope.  And since electron microscopes are beyond most of our budgets, we must turn to the immunologic responses to determine if a plant is infected.  There are a number of test kits on the market today.  In my opinion, the best and most accurate test kit available is the Agitest CymMV & ORSV 2 in 1 Rapid Test manufactured by Rega Biotechnology of Taiwan.  This kit is superior to any other test kit on the market today.  I have tested over 1300 plants using the Agitest kits and have been extremely pleased with the performance of the test kit.  It is easy to use.  Everything you need is contained in the box.  Unlike its competitors, Agitest provides the user with a small, rigid plastic vial that contains the assay regent.  They also provide you with a paper pestle to crush the sample with, no trying to preserve the integrity of a plastic bag while attempting to prepare the sample with whatever tool is at hand.  Agitest provides the tool for you.  The sample required is very small, 5mm x 5mm.  Leaf tissue or root tips may be used as sample sources with equal success.  Along with the sample tube and pestle, there is also a small, paper stand to hold the tubes while you are waiting for results.  It is very, very convenient!  The test strips are placed in the tube along with sample.  Within a few minutes, you have an accurate, easy to read result that is very clear.  The tests are accurate and there are no false positives as Rega Biotechnology serum and assay type prevent such occurrences.  This is a very great advantage over other kits.  In addition, Agitest kits are much more affordable than others.  They also offer a tiered pricing structure that provides quantity discounts to large scale users.  Their competition certainly does not offer any kind of discount on any size order.  The people at Regabio are also very kind and considerate of their customer’s needs.  Questions are answered quickly and in a very professional and friendly manner.  They never act as though the consumer is interrupting their work, they understand the consumer is the reason for their work!  This is totally different from my experience with their competitors.  The next time you need a dependable, easy-to-use virus test kit for orchids, contact Regabio about their Agitest Rapid Test.  You will be very pleased that you did! 

 

Douglas Overstreet, California 2019-10

 

“I’ve been using the Rega Biotechnology Agitest Kits for some time now and have found them very effective in detecting Cymbidium Mosiac Virus (CymMV) and Oncidium Ringspot Virus (ORSV).  They are very easy to use and very cost effective.  The ordering process is easy and delivery is very quick.

 I have also found their Customer Service to be exceptional. It is always a pleasure to deal with Winnie. No issue is too big that it cannot be resolved.  Thank You – I will always buy my test kits from Rega Biotechnology”

 

Teresa Bourke, NSW Australia 2019-09