Our ornamental screen is a starting point for identifying pathogens in ornamental plants for which we have not yet assembled a regular screen. For some plants, we recommend different sets of tests instead of this general screen. Please contact us if you would like us to suggest tests to include in a screen for your ornamental crop. We will be happy to make recommendations.

Among the viruses we most often detect in ornamental crops are Tomato spotted wilt virus and Impatiens necrotic spot virus, both transmitted by thrips. These two viruses can cause disease in many plants, with symptoms that can be mistaken for nutritional disorders, fungal diseases, or other problems. As research on these two common viruses progresses, the list of plants that they are known to infect continues to grow.

Other viruses that most often occur in ornamentals are cucumber mosaic virus, transmitted by aphids, and tobacco and tomato ringspot viruses, transmitted by nematodes, seeds or by propagating infected plants.