Agdia Announces Release of New, More Sensitive, ImmunoStrip® for INSV

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Agdia, Inc., a leading provider of agricultural diagnostic tests and services, has launched a new, more sensitive Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) ImmunoStrip.

INSV is a thrips-transmitted Tospovirus that infects a wide range of hosts including ornamental and vegetable crops.  Crops infected with INSV may suffer from detrimental quality factors and reduced yield which impacts marketability.  Control of INSV is largely dependent on controlling thrips populations and ensuring that plants used for propagation are virus-tested and known to be free of the pathogen.    

As part of Agdia’s commitment to continual product improvement they are actively focused on ensuring that sustainable raw material sources are available for manufacturing their tests.  In their most recent screening for INSV, Agdia identified an alternative source of biomaterials that demonstrated superior sensitivity in their widely used ImmunoStrip product format.  The resulting assay demonstrated an approximate 3 fold increase in sensitivity compared to the prior version of the test.

ImmunoStrips are designed to give non-experienced users a convenient and simple tool to quickly identify plant pathogens and take appropriate disease management steps when necessary.  To perform the test a user would tear off a piece of suspicious plant material and insert it into an extraction bag included with a test kit.  Once the plant tissue has been extracted by rubbing it with a pen or marker, the ImmunoStrip is inserted directly into the bag which initiates the test.  As the test runs one or two lines will appear indicating a negative or positive result, respectively.  Agdia recommends allowing the test to run 30 minutes but positive results may be visible in 5 minutes or less. 

The INSV ImmunoStrip is sold as kits of 5 and 25 tests.  ImmunoStrip kits include everything necessary to perform a test.  Agdia provides a 1 year warranty on purchased kits. For more information on the INSV ImmunoStrip, visit the company’s website at www.agdia.com, e-mail info@agdia.com, phone 1-574-264-2615 (toll-free 800-622-4342) or fax 1-574-264-2153.

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