New finding of plum pox potyvirus on sweet cherry in Italy
Recently, a decline of sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium) has been observed in the South of Italy (Puglia). Diseased plants showed apical necrosis, leaf mottle and chlorosis, necrotic rings on fruits, gum exudates on bark and they generally die after 5-8 years. Biological, serological and RT-PCR tests have shown that the virus present in sweet cherry is an isolate of plum pox potyvirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest). This is the first report of plum pox potyvirus on sweet cherry.
Sources
Crescenzi, A.; Nuzzaci, M.; Levy, L.; Piazzolla, P.; Hadidi, A. (1994) Plum pox virus (PPV) in sweet cherry.
Paper presented at the XVI International Symposium on Viruses and Virus diseases of Temperate Fruit Crops, 1994-06-27/07-03, Rome (IT)