Current situation of Plum pox potyvirus near Ankara, Turkey
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) is an important crop for Turkey, approximately 520,000 tons of fresh and dried fruits being produced every year. Apricot production is mainly concentrated near Malatya (East Anatolia) which is still free from Plum pox potyvirus (PPV - EPPO A2 list). In Turkey, PPV was first found in plums (P. domestica) near Edirne, close to the Bulgarian border in 1968, and subsequently in apricot and plum trees in 2 private gardens in Ankara in 1973. Further studies were done in Ankara, which is not an important fruit-growing area (no commercial fruit-tree orchards, except a few sour and sweet cherry orchards). Stone-fruit trees are grown in private gardens. In 1990, PPV was detected in apricot and plum trees in 31 private gardens. In 1993, it was found that only PPV-M strains occurred and that they were transmitted by the aphid Hyalopterus pruni. A survey was conducted in 2002/2003 in 212 private gardens (corresponding to 21 locations and 935 trees inspected and tested by ELISA). Of a total of 935 trees, PPV was found in 523 trees: 286 apricot, 172 plum and 65 peach trees (P. persica). It was not detected on sour or sweet cherry. The incidence of the disease was 71.1 %, 60.5 % and 48.8% in apricot, plum and peach, respectively. Strains were also characterized: PPV-M (on 406 trees), PPV-D (17 trees) and mixed infections of both strains (100 trees) were detected. PPV is therefore considered as widespread in apricot, plum and peach in the Ankara area. However, it is stressed that PPV is of limited distribution in Turkey and, more importantly, absent from commercial fruit-growing areas (except in the area of Bursa, Marmara region). It is considered that this rather satisfactory situation may be due to healthy status of native cultivars, prohibitions on the movement of propagation material from areas where PPV occurs, and absence of imports of propagation material from other countries.
Sources
|
Elibüyük IO (2004) Current situation of sharka disease in Ankara, Turkey.
Phytoparasitica, 32(4), 417-420.
Elibüyük IO (2003) Natural spread of plum pox virus in Ankara, Turkey.
Journal of Phytopathology, 151(11/12), 617-619.
|