[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I emailed Aaron Hicks, author of 'Asymbiotic Technique of Orchid Seed Germination', and who runs the Orchid Seedbank Project in Chandler, Arizona, about using alcohol for tool sterilization, as some one was insisting was OK here. In the past I have found him very knowledgeable about orchid viruses. Here is his reply:

"They're flat-out wrong. Alcohol does not denature tobamoviruses. All it does is preserve the virus long enough to infect the cutting tool, and pass it along. This is documented in Disinfection, Sterilization, and Preservation by Seymour Block, IIRC. We had a nitwit doctoral student who would dip her tools in the same ethanol quench used to cool tools after sitting in the bead box. Dip, heat, dip, and back to work."

I assume the 'bead box" is a device for heating tools for sterilization. So, let us all please find some other method of sterilizing our tools other than alcohol. Cynthia