Prediction of the preservation of freeze-dried cucumber mosaic virus

A mathematical model to predict the outcome of preserving plant viruses has been developed. The survival of two cucumber mosaic virus strains lyophili zed in leaves and in protected plant sap was evaluated using an accelerated storage test at 28, 37 and 45 degreesC. The combinations of 5% (w/v) sorbi tol and 7% (w/v) glucose with 3.6% (w/v) dextran 40 000 were applied as pro tecting media. The predicted values to a great extent correspond to the exp erimental data, achieved after 1, 4 and 7 years of storage.