Opuntianoids and MLO

[Glochid Fingers]

Is the MLO virus that causes monstrose growth in opuntia always successful in infecting a scion grafted to an infected stock? I want to infect several of my opuntia and perhaps cholla cacti via grafting. But is buying an O. Subulata monstrous worth the effort? Will all the grafts that take become infected?
Thanks.
GF

[snarfie]

it is not always successfull, but sometimes it only grows monstrose when it is grafted, and when it is degrafted, they revert back to normal, and sometimes the mlo stays in the scion when degrafted, and sometimes it just does nothing. I also planned to do experiments with it, but i don't have enough stock to graft on: 3 hylo, 1x o. subulata monstrose, and a little pachanoi, and 5 hylo seedlings that are too small, so i'll wait untill next year

[BobbyZ]

Let me pose a question. Can you make a cell free extract of a montrose opuntiad. Grind in a mortar and pestle with some grit, than filter or preferably centrifuge. Perhaps if you inject this viral prep with a syringe it can be transmitted to the plant you desire. This would have been a excercise from my Plant virology lab.

[Glochid Fingers]

it is not always successfull, but sometimes it only grows monstrose when it is grafted, and when it is degrafted, they revert back to normal, and sometimes the mlo stays in the scion when degrafted, and sometimes it just does nothing. I also planned to do experiments with it, but i don't have enough stock to graft on: 3 hylo, 1x o. subulata monstrose, and a little pachanoi, and 5 hylo seedlings that are too small, so i'll wait untill next year

From what I've read, it seems to only to effect opuntia and similar cacti. Perhaps the virus can be carried by some cacti, but only manifests itself into opuntia. Thus making other cacti potential carriers of the virus.

And BobbyZ, this could also be an interesting experiment. I know I can aquire needles and syringes from some farm and ranch stores to administer penicillin to livestock and dogs, but I think the needles are too large. If I could get some very thin needles like the ones dentists use for your gums then the experiment might stand a chance. But if the thick cell walls of a cactus cell are injected with fluid, won't the injection area have exploded? I don't know anything about plant virology, just taking a guess. I'm still taking general college classes If you can try this out I would love to see it and you could provide a good way for me to do this easily

So far all I have done with my current resources has been cutting off a seedling sized offset from my O. Moncantha variegated monstrose and grafted it to a pereskiopsis. With the scraps I grafted the long pereskiopsis tip on the short remains of the offset. Even though the offset is the stock, it was treated like a scion. Fun and hard to try though. Wish me luck.

[snarfie]

i've heard that o. monacantha variegata carries a virus that makes it variegated, so o. subulata would be better to experiment with (and grows faster)

[coldcactusmontreal]

Can't you get insulin needles easily?

[Glochid Fingers]

Well. Only one of the grafts made it. The opuntia on the pereskiopsis. After a while it began to grow and was pupping from every areole as usual. I cut the top off of the opuntia and grafted a pereskiopsis tip to it. In about a week I can tell you if the 2nd graft survived. And I should have some monstrose pereskiopsis.