Sterilizing pruning tools

[Phoenikakias]

What is the best method for sterilization- hydrogen peroxide, a solution based on Copper Hydroxide, or something else?

[kahili]

3 parts bleach to 7 parts water. Soak for 10 mins and then rinse well. That will kill anything that is on the tools

[cfkingfish]

A propane torch works well too.

[Kris]

3 parts bleach to 7 parts water. Soak for 10 mins and then rinse well. That will kill anything that is on the tools

yes,this works well along with dipping ones garden tools in hot boiling water as they did ages before with medical syringe(Injection needles).Nothing kills germs as hot water...

And as christian as said,his method is the most easiest & simplest.Nowadys these tourch are very small & handy which are easily available in any A/C mechanic store.And this method does not encourage rusting of iron tools !

Love,

kris.

[Kostas]

I like rubbing them with medical grade alcohol before use and when changing trees. I think its good enough at killing whatever is present on them as its a method accepted in the medical world.

[Gonzer]

Or you can emulate a certain tree company that brought 100 new chain saw blades to cut 100 P. canariensis. One chain per tree.

[Dr. George]

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol is not that great as a broad spectrum disinfectant, especially when in contact for relatively short periods of time or against fungal agents.

Bleach solutions and torch heat are good approaches. My personal preference is the bleach solution, but bleach solutions can be corrosive so after the final wash at the end of the day, I do a thorough rinse and then spray with WD 40 before putting metal tools back in storage.

gmp

[Kris]

Or you can emulate a certain tree company that brought 100 new chain saw blades to cut 100 P. canariensis. One chain per tree.

I must say those guys should be really well to do.hope all contractors follow this example.

[sarasota alex]

A propane torch works well too.

This made me think... would it benefit the palm, when I cut off a leaf to burn the wound with a torch? If I burn a half-an-inch of petiole base, maybe it would limit the chance of pathogens getting in? Or would palms not like it?

[Phoenikakias]

A propane torch works well too.

This made me think... would it benefit the palm, when I cut off a leaf to burn the wound with a torch? If I burn a half-an-inch of petiole base, maybe it would limit the chance of pathogens getting in? Or would palms not like it?

Remember the Ents? Take care nothing similiar happens

[Kostas]

Alcohol is used for sterilizing laminar flow cabinet interchangeably with bleach solutions,which means they are equally effective. I am always talking for medical grade alcohol,not the cheaper and less concentrated ones. Alcohol is also used to surface sterilize microscopes and work tables in microbiology labs,phenol in particular due to being cheaper than ethylic alcohol. For these reason,i think sterilizing with alcohol is nice and fast without being hard on the tools as its not corrosive to metals. I apply it liberally on the pruning section of the tools for disinfection and leave it dry.

[Ken Johnson]

Sterile is relative folks. Once that tool touches air from your garden it is full of spores, virus and bacteria. Save your energy and get to work in that muddy dirty place you call a garden.

[Dr. George]

Alcohol is used for sterilizing laminar flow cabinet interchangeably with bleach solutions,which means they are equally effective. I am always talking for medical grade alcohol,not the cheaper and less concentrated ones. Alcohol is also used to surface sterilize microscopes and work tables in microbiology labs,phenol in particular due to being cheaper than ethylic alcohol. For these reason,i think sterilizing with alcohol is nice and fast without being hard on the tools as its not corrosive to metals. I apply it liberally on the pruning section of the tools for disinfection and leave it dry.

Medical grade alcohol is not equally effective to bleach solutions in killing infective organisms.

Alcohols may be very good at dissolving organic material that may be attached to surfaces and providing a home for infective agents, but alcohols have poor broad spectrum bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal activity.

Phenol (carbolic acid) is not the same as ethyl, methyl or the common medical grade isopropyl alcohol.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations do not list any of the alcohols as appropriate for any level of disinfection of surfaces, however, does list chlorine products, and footnote #4 of their recommendation table (see link) discusses making chlorine bleach solutions from household bleach for disinfection. Since we are talking about prevention of the spread of pathogens between plants, I would suggest that this information is applicable, with heat and chlorine products being effective and least expensive approaches.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5217a4.htm

Using alcohols to disinfect surfaces is a commonly held belief, not effective in killing many pathogens especially fungal elements, and provides only a false sense of security.

gmp

[rsproule]

Lysol disinfectant kills many types of bacteria, fungi & viruses. It's easy to use and does not damage metal tools, clothes or skin ach. A prolonged soak is the best method, but the spray can is awfly handy and often more practical.

[Ken Johnson]

What pathogens have been proven to be spread by tools and how can you prevent the pathogen from finding another vector? It seems that if the pathogens are around at all that they will spread to fresh cuts in the palm, period. No? Not trying to argue here just looking at reality. Single cell organisms have a way of not being seen......

[Dypsisdean]

What pathogens have been proven to be spread by tools and how can you prevent the pathogen from finding another vector? It seems that if the pathogens are around at all that they will spread to fresh cuts in the palm, period. No? Not trying to argue here just looking at reality. Single cell organisms have a way of not being seen......

Question:

- Do plants have any type of an immune system? If so, then the following logic which pertains to higher life forms, might apply.

One bacteria, or one virus, (or even very low concentrations of them) will not spread a disease in animals. Most info I have read pertaining to epidemics and contagious disease in humans relates that the organism causing the disease has to be present in a threshold concentration, and at or in a susceptible site, to infect.

Whether this applies to plants, I don't know. But I guess the simplest question would be - will one (or small number) pathogen landing on a fresh cut spread the disease?

At any rate, I would think a cutting tool freshly loaded with pathogens almost injecting them into the cell structure while cutting would be similar to using an inhaler filled with flu virus - as opposed to wandering a crowded room of sick people. In one case you are almost guaranteed of getting sick. In the other, not so much.

[Ken Johnson]

One cell is enough Dean and it's interesting to note that some diseases like one of the worst palm diseases in the world Lethal Yellow, cannot be spread by tools!

[Dypsisdean]

One cell is enough Dean and it's interesting to note that some diseases like one of the worst palm diseases in the world Lethal Yellow, cannot be spread by tools!

Ken,

As you know, the infectious nature of a virus is much different than a bacterium. So perhaps for this discussion the different pathogens (bacteria, virus, fungi, etc.) should be considered separately. Phytoplasmas (Lethal Yellow) although technically bacteria, behave more similar to viruses in that they need an insect vector and cannot even be cultured as can bacteria and fungi.

While this discussion would quickly leap over our heads by those who study this stuff, my guess would be that for some plant diseases cleaning equipment would not help, and for others it would.

[Dr. George]

What pathogens have been proven to be spread by tools and how can you prevent the pathogen from finding another vector? It seems that if the pathogens are around at all that they will spread to fresh cuts in the palm, period. No? Not trying to argue here just looking at reality. Single cell organisms have a way of not being seen......

Well, for starters, probably the most widely know condition is Fusarium Wilt of CIDPs, where the primary mode of transmission of the fungal organism Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. canariensis is attributed to contaminated pruning tools.

While the primary interest of this specific forum is palms, the question of the topic is pretty open ended, and there are lots of infectious conditions that can be spread between plants by pruning tools.

My professional expertise is with animal rather than plant systems, and plant defense systems are different than those of animals, but I think some of the principles of infection and prevention are likely comparable. The establishment of an infection is dependent upon susceptibility of the host, susceptibility of the host site, pathogenicity of the specific organism, size of the inoculum (number of organism) and how it is introduced into the site.

Most times a single, individual infectious organism is not enough to cause a fulminating infection unless the host individual is immune compromised. So, one can increase the chances of spreading an infection by picking up a large number of the organisms from a site of active infection and then smearing those organisms into a fresh cut in a susceptible host.

Example for illustration: There may be some harmful bacteria on the floor of the surgery room where that surgery is performed without it being a significant threat to the patient on the disinfected surgery table, but I sure would not want to have an incision made by a scalpel that fell on that floor.

Is the risk the same for a tree or other plant?

Probably not unless the stem you trimmed just before had an active infection and the one you are trimming next is on a susceptible host.

gmp

[Kris]

This topic has started becoming interesting,So what i assume is that trimming by human beings for cosmetic reasons is the primary reason for the palm getting infected.And those palms in the wild who's dried fronds are cleaned during heavy rains & during strong winds are less prone to infection.

And washy's,Queen & CIDP's are the worst affected by cosmetic pruning to get a desired look to the garden.So naturally they are the most infected lot.

And reading some of the above post i draw an inference that if infection has to happen it will happen due to flying insects,birds,airborne seasonal infections present in the air,etc..

Love,

kris.

[sonoranfans]

Alcohol is used for sterilizing laminar flow cabinet interchangeably with bleach solutions,which means they are equally effective. I am always talking for medical grade alcohol,not the cheaper and less concentrated ones. Alcohol is also used to surface sterilize microscopes and work tables in microbiology labs,phenol in particular due to being cheaper than ethylic alcohol. For these reason,i think sterilizing with alcohol is nice and fast without being hard on the tools as its not corrosive to metals. I apply it liberally on the pruning section of the tools for disinfection and leave it dry.

Medical grade alcohol is not equally effective to bleach solutions in killing infective organisms.

Alcohols may be very good at dissolving organic material that may be attached to surfaces and providing a home for infective agents, but alcohols have poor broad spectrum bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal activity.

Phenol (carbolic acid) is not the same as ethyl, methyl or the common medical grade isopropyl alcohol.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations do not list any of the alcohols as appropriate for any level of disinfection of surfaces, however, does list chlorine products, and footnote #4 of their recommendation table (see link) discusses making chlorine bleach solutions from household bleach for disinfection. Since we are talking about prevention of the spread of pathogens between plants, I would suggest that this information is applicable, with heat and chlorine products being effective and least expensive approaches.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5217a4.htm

Using alcohols to disinfect surfaces is a commonly held belief, not effective in killing many pathogens especially fungal elements, and provides only a false sense of security.

gmp

Dr George is presenting what I know. Sterilization of biomedical equipment is done with bleach, steam autoclave, or or ethylene oxide in my experience and ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol are not approved for reusable medical device parts that involve skin contact.