The epidemiology of tomato mosaic III. Cleaning virus from hands and tools

SUMMARY 10% Teepol, 2% citric acid, 1% tannic acid, 3% NaH 2 PO 4 , 3% Na 2 HPO 4 , 0·1%, 0·5%, 1 and 3% Na 3 PO 4 and Diversol (a chlorinated Na,PB, plus bromine) solutions were mixed with tomato sap infected with tomato mosaic virus (TMV) and inoculated to Nicotiana glutinosa , after standing for different lengths of time. Fewest lesions were caused by mixtures with tri‐sodium orthophosphate or Diversol at concentrations over 1%. It was found difficult to free sap‐cngrained hands from TMV: the best treatment was to wash in a 3% solution of tri‐sodium orthophosphate and then to scrub well with soap and water, but this did not always free under the nails from virus. The best way to prevent contamination from TMV‐infected tools, other than heat sterilization, was to dip them in 3% tri‐sodium orthophosphate solution and not to rinse this off.