Articles
PRELIMINARY EVALUATION ON SUSCEPTIBILITY TO NATURAL INFECTIONS OF PUTATIVE RESISTANT PEACH BREEDING SELECTIONS IN A PPV ENDEMIC SITE
Article number
1084_79
Pages
585 – 590
Language
English
Abstract
Plum pox, also known as Sharka, is the most devastating viral disease in stone fruits.
In peach, no source of resistance to this virus has been described to date.
Breeding programmes aiming to transfer resistance to peach through hybridization have used the closely related and inter-fertile almond and Prunus davidiana as resistance donors.
In the frame of a recently ended project funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, 38 genotypes were scored as resistant or highly tolerant to artificial infections through the Markus strain: 33 pre-breeding selections (hybrids peach × almond or peach × davidiana), and 5 old peach varieties.
These genotypes, together with three aphid-resistant accessions were grafted onto peach × almond rootstock GF677 and planted in 2011 in an orchard site being endemic to the PPV virus (Verona, Italy). The trial has the purpose to evaluate the resistance of this material to natural viral infections.
Four-tree plots of each genotype were planted, together with 20 trees of the peach seedling rootstock GF305, known as being highly susceptible to PPV virus, randomly distributed in the trial as a control.
Since the first growing season, each tree was visually scored for flower, leaf and fruit symptoms.
The presence of the virus in the symptomatic cases was verified by analysing leaf samples by ELISA immunotest and qRT-PCR. In 2012, the qualitative traits of fruits were also evaluated.
In the first two years of field evaluation, most of GF305 trees showed to be symptomatic and positive.
Twenty-three out of the 33 putatively resistant pre-breeding selections became infected by the virus in at least one tree.
At present, 10 selections, two of which featured good commercial fruit quality and one old variety are still symptomless.
In peach, no source of resistance to this virus has been described to date.
Breeding programmes aiming to transfer resistance to peach through hybridization have used the closely related and inter-fertile almond and Prunus davidiana as resistance donors.
In the frame of a recently ended project funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, 38 genotypes were scored as resistant or highly tolerant to artificial infections through the Markus strain: 33 pre-breeding selections (hybrids peach × almond or peach × davidiana), and 5 old peach varieties.
These genotypes, together with three aphid-resistant accessions were grafted onto peach × almond rootstock GF677 and planted in 2011 in an orchard site being endemic to the PPV virus (Verona, Italy). The trial has the purpose to evaluate the resistance of this material to natural viral infections.
Four-tree plots of each genotype were planted, together with 20 trees of the peach seedling rootstock GF305, known as being highly susceptible to PPV virus, randomly distributed in the trial as a control.
Since the first growing season, each tree was visually scored for flower, leaf and fruit symptoms.
The presence of the virus in the symptomatic cases was verified by analysing leaf samples by ELISA immunotest and qRT-PCR. In 2012, the qualitative traits of fruits were also evaluated.
In the first two years of field evaluation, most of GF305 trees showed to be symptomatic and positive.
Twenty-three out of the 33 putatively resistant pre-breeding selections became infected by the virus in at least one tree.
At present, 10 selections, two of which featured good commercial fruit quality and one old variety are still symptomless.
Publication
Authors
A. Liverani, F. Brandi, S. Sirri, D. Giovannini, G. Baroni , F. Lonardi
Keywords
Prunus persica, sharka, trial evaluation, ELISA qRT-PCR
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