Re: Mr. Sedlar's Credentials

     Hey Steve.  Can you please send me some of your seeds.  I would like to
try them.

--- Great Pumpkin <greatpumpkin99@hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >Tom,
> >
> >Actually, I think there is a middle ground. If Steve would just post his
> >credentials relative to the testing he has performed, I think that would
> >suffice. Personally, I'd like to know what degrees Steve has in botany,
> >microbiology or any related fields. Also, if Steve is licensed by the
> State
> >of Ohio to perform such tests, knowing so would be helpful.
> >
> >I have asked these questions of Steve in a private note but have received 
> >no
> >response. I have to presume that he has no degrees, no pertinent licenses
> >and, therefore, no credibility.
> >
> >I also must presume that, since he must borrow garden space, it is highly
> >unlikely that Steve has the specialized equipment needed to conduct such
> >tests. Running a cereal bowl through the dish washer would not provide the
> >sterile environment that such testing necessitates.
> >
> >For that matter, I'd like to know how Steve was able to identify which
> >strain of mosaic virus that had infected his other pumpkins. He refers
> only
> >to cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) when there are several viruses that can,
> and
> >do, infect c. maxima and can be harbored and transmitted through its seed.
> >There are plenty of university-sponsored Websites that indicate just that.
> >
> >As I explained to Steve privately, I put too much effort and money into my
> >patch to be risking, even minutely, my garden to possibly infected seeds.
> >Also, being a good neighbor to several truck farms, I cannot risk
> infecting
> >their squash and pumpkin patches because of a greedy desire on my part to
> >grow a big pumpkin. My garden is my hobby; theirs are their livelihoods. I
> >must garden responsibly.
> >
> >So should Steve.
> >
> >Paul Thompson
> >Armada, Michigan
> >
> 
> Paul, I meant to reply to your email, (I actually thought I did), I am
> doing 
> a million things at once it is hard to keep track.
> Anyway, I do NOT have any degrees in anything, and am not licensed (I am
> not 
> in the business of certifying pathogens in farm crops or for export of
> plant 
> material). I never said or implied that I did. However, screening for 
> viruses doesn't require a degree. I was working under the intructions 
> written by a microbiologist, (Dr. Harold Edelman) who I am sure will agree 
> that pretty much anyone who has even a basic knowledge of botany and
> biology 
> can do a virus screen. I think my tests are perfectly credible, and I am 
> sure the people who DO have these degrees will agree.
> As far as borrowing garden space....? I am not sure I follow what this has 
> to do with testing for plant pathogens, or what testing equipment I have 
> available. I have full knowledge on how to run basic controlled tests, like
> 
> screening for pathogens using a bioindicator.
> I had no need to go into trying to identify a strain of virus. The first 
> step is simply screening for ANY viruses present. If the tests were 
> positive, then of course the next step might be to have further more 
> detailed testing done to determine the specifics. Using a bioindicator (I 
> used National Pickling cucumber seedlings) is pretty straightforward, and 
> not very difficult at all. It also is the most obvious first step, since it
> 
> will screen out several known pathogens, and even any mutated or unknown 
> viruses which other methods could miss. It is one of the oldest amd most 
> reliable methods for screening plant material. Go to the pumpkin archives 
> and find where Dr. Edelman posts about how just about anyone can do this 
> test. I did this on the leaves of the plants last year, and on the seeds 
> most recently. The leaves of this plant were clean, while the others tested
> 
> positive. The seeds of ALL the plants tested negative, which also
> reinforces 
> the theory that CMV is not usually present in seeds of c. maxima (CMV seems
> 
> to prefer moist sappy environments). As far as your statement that CMV has 
> been transmitted via seed in c. maxima, I would like to see data that shows
> 
> this. I have done a lot of research and couldn't find anything like this. 
> Not even one case.
> Besides researching scientific lab data, I have talked to a lot of growers 
> and local plant pathologists who said they have either personally or known 
> of someone who had virus in their entire crop, then the next year planted
> in 
> the same area, even using the seeds from the infected plants from the 
> previous year, and there was no sign of virus recurring whatsoever. There
> is 
> at least a couple of accounts identical to this posted in the archives as 
> well. I believe Harold Edelman said that Bill Greer mentioned this to him
> at 
> a seminar. Yet no one has ever had any problems with planting seeds from 
> Bill Greer, or anyone else in this situation, and they have not even run
> the 
> tests that I have on my plants and seeds, which CLEARS my seeds from 
> viruses.
> I understand being cautious and taking virus issues seriously, but after a 
> certain point, and so much data that clears seeds of any risk, even more 
> than probably any other untested seeds (and plants that produced those 
> seeds) out there (virtually ALL seeds out there), it really starts to be 
> unfounded paranoia which is not based on anything except maybe a bitter 
> feeling towards me personally by some people, which is something I never 
> quite understood. I have always been honest and trustworthy, yet some would
> 
> obviously like to make it appear otherwise, for what reason, I am not sure.
> 
> -Steve Sedlar
> 
> 
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