Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

To determine the natural incidence of Plum pox virus (PPV) in ornamental Prunus species, surveys of 120 species/cultivars were conducted in Hungary between 2002 and 2007. Fifty-nine PPV-infected trees were detected by ELISA and/or PCR. Twenty-five were P. cerasifera cv. Nigra with dark red leaves, which accounts for a significant proportion of street-grown Prunus trees in Hungary. Molecular assays showed a prevalence of strain PPV-D (22) over PPV-M (2) and mixed infection of strains M and D (1). Infection was identified in: *Persica x davidiopersica cv. Atropurpurea, P. cerasifera, *P. cerasifera (Blue-fruited), *P. cerasifera (Light-pink-fruited), *P. cerasifera cv. Nigra, *P. cerasifera cv. Pendula, *P.cerasifera cv. Pissardii, *P. cerasifera cv. Woodii, P. glandulosa, *P. glandulosa cv. Alba Plena, *P. japonica, *Prunus x blireana, *Prunus x blireana cv. Moseri. On cultivars with dark-red leaves, symptoms could not be recognized even if the virus concentration was high. It can be assumed that in Hungary the latently infected red-leaved cultivars can play an important role in the wide distribution of PPV. Therefore it is a must to implement the certification scheme for propagating materials also considering that a number of Prunus species and cultivars (marked by an asterisk above) have been identified as previously unreported natural hosts of PPV in Hungary.