He claims to know things about hop latent viroid, thinks he can beat it with regular cloning, but get this: he uses a giant aeroponic cloner, 140+ cuts at a time. HPLVD, if present in one cut, will spread to them all thru the rez water, 100%, no joke. The amount of chlorine plants can handle in rez is nowhere near the 10% bleach mix that guarantees RNA destruction.
I've been dealing with this shit for 6+ years, and got pretty well misled by TNF's "advice". A lot of time and resources were wasted, thinking I could beat it by cloning and KNF. I honestly think he wanted me to get burned out, give up, and just hand over the rarities. Some shill even commented on my page about getting genetics to him ASAP. Screw that. Who knows what accounts he is really hiding behind... I know his writing style though, I've seen his fake accounts writing on forums, pushing his seed. It's unmistakable, I'm sure a real analyst would agree.
Similar to the past era before viruses could be observed physically, or viroids were known to exist, TNF was staying low-tech, using 1500x magnification to visually check for fusarium, or other fungi, bacteria, phytoplasma, pests, eggs, etc. But he never suspected a virus or viroid!?- A foolish, rookie mistake in the modern world of horticulture, and he won't fess up to it. Kev Jodrey has been aware of virus/viroid threats for some years, and knows you can't assume it's not there just because you can't see it.
Problem is, HPLVD is uncoated RNA with just 256 base pairs. You'll NEVER see it without a scanning electron microscope. Visual inspection is useless and misleading.
Rather than begin using any tissue culture techniques (which do not have to be specialized, expensive, or more resource intensive than regular cloning, see my note** below) he is doubling down and contradicting himself. He says you can't outrun it with regular TC, because you have to use only the uppermost tips to escape it. He mistakenly says it travels by vascular system... Then, in the same comment, he says that he can beat it by generational cloning, and that's a far bigger cut than any TC uses. He has shown ZERO negative tests to assure his supporters or prove his claims. His ego is too bloated to admit doing anything wrong, and he never responded to someone kindly asking about if he'd made seeds from a "dudded" plant.
My guess why he doesn't want or like the concept of TC: He'd rather stick to his dogmatic tenets and split hairs than use the negligible amount of synthetic nutrients that TC needs. To admit he used anything like that would contradict all the KNF and anti-synthetic preaching over the years. It's all in the amount used though- you could supply the entire planet's TC for decades with a tiny fraction of synthetic that is currently wasted each annually. Technology itself isn't evil, it's the way it's used. He's always talked smack about synthetic growers, condescending memes and crap. I don't like the overuse of synthetics either, but that won't stop me from using a very tiny amount for TC purposes. In my mind, that's what synthetics are here for. Small, specialized applications like TC.
Let's also consider- KNF is not a good idea to use on mother plants. Why? The inputs can have a high risk of transferring pathogens themselves, especially viral/viroid. Another novel pathogen could make the jump to cannabis this way, or use it as a host and mutate later. It's risky using it on anything other than str8 field crops that are not to be cloned!
Considering how many sick and older plants he has taken in, he certainly has HPLVD in his clone stock, and probably some seed stock too (yes, it can spread inside of seeds). After struggling with it for 6 years, I can view a plant and spot the symptoms. He has the viroid suppressed fairly well, but it's definitely there, fucking with the physical appearance of the plant, the gene silencing mechanism at work. Hijacks the plant's system to make it work for itself. I get my moms like that too, viroid load low, but even then, I can clearly see they aren't 100% normal. So why pretend? It's gonna blow up in his face eventually. I think it's already begun, just people silently backing away. I'm too pissed off to be quiet though. I didn't ever need him- everything Mr. Bob and Hannah taught me is what kept my clones alive.
Hop latent can spread thru seeds- % is unknown, but likely depends on viroid load in the mother plant.
Anyone who keeps special clones or seed should avoid all untested sources, or go with breeders who have an EXTREMELY strict quarantine policy. Once a plant has it, one simple mistake, whether over or underwatering, lack of light, nutrition, or rootbound, the latent viroid then appears and severely harms yield and quality. It brings clone rooting success % way down. It's a horrendous pathogen, bad enough that people like TNF need to take some responsibility and test before selling. There is a reason I haven't sold any seed- I was suspicious that something else was going on in them, and it took a while for the world to catch up and confirm the truth about HPLVD in cannabis. TNF's bloated ego has kept him thinking he's got it all covered. What a joke.
**[On a side note: anyone who wants to get into DIY tissue culture, go check out Bill Graham's company Microclone- their "tissueponics" method has had great success at freeing plants from pathogens, including hop latent. Best of all, it's accessible to the masses, requires little training, and results are already well proven. I am starting my own setup, using this method, ASAP. People are sleeping on it- don't believe Dark Heart's BS about needing special, expensive TC! They only want that $$$ and to steal genetics, plus they're largely responsible for spreading HPLVD. I wish I was sponsored by Microclone, but I'm not. I met Bill in person a few years ago, & he did a demonstration for me, even tried to TC some of my cuts, but they were too unhealthy back then, with fungal contamination inside. He's a great guy, the OG pioneer for cannabis TC.
I use 400W metal halide lamps, "sky blue" spectrum, or sunlight, and 5, 7, & 10 gal. fabric pots, with high quality soil, plenty of calcium. Blast them with light, try to keep them spoiled, and take 2" upper tips only. They are rinsed with agitation in a dichlor solution, then leaves trimmed in preparation for tubes, with nutrients and hormones plus sterile media. The "Tech FAQ" section on Microclone site has more detailed info.
The rapid growing tips are almost always ahead of the slower moving viroid, but you have to get down to a fairly small tip piece. (unlike what TNF claims, the viroid is not just quickly moving all around in the vascular system. It begins at the cutting wound stage, or lower reaches, and moves upward slowly, much slower paced than the plant's growth.]**
I will be ditching all TNF seed I bought. I'm not sure if against the rules here, but I'll drop my email and IG (to reassure I'm not scamming) to anyone who's interested in taking them for very little money. Not sure if anyone will want to, after all I've said. IDGAF if TNF's goons and shills want to harass/slander me. Stored in my fridge, all original TNF packs, now nearly worthless to me. I'm beyond done messing with anything dude touched.
My next post here will reveal info about the lack of effort TNF puts into breeding. 'Til then, take care all. Don't drink his kool-aid. He should find other employment to support his family, or work for someone who is a genuine professional in cannabis. His current position as a hack who claims legitimacy is malignant to our community, and serves to bloat his ego more than anything else.
Interesting, and sad, how some people over-preach all love and oneness, and are actually the polar opposite in reality. Funny how he hashtagged "UsedCarSalesman", cause that's the equivalent to what he is in our ganja world. I just hope he treats his kids better than Matilda's "father".
