Production of virus-free carnation plants through heat therapy

The effect of exposure of carnation plants infected with carnation latent virus (CLV) to two temperature regimes (35 ± 2°C and 40 ± 2°C) for different periods (1 to 4 weeks) revealed that the exposure to different temperatures for different periods has a negative correlation with the survival of plants. Whereas only 33.33 per cent plants survived after 4 weeks at 35 ± 2°C, the plants when exposed to 40 ± 2°C for the same period could not tolerate the heat shock. However, only those plants which were exposed to 35 ± 2°C for 4 weeks and those exposed to 40 ± 2°C for 3 weeks were free from CLV. However, because of better survival rate, the higher temperature regime of 40 ± 2°C is recommended for production of virus-tested carnation plants