Articles
Sanitary assessment of the Lebanese germplasm collection and some introduced rootstocks of Prunus species
Article number
1413_20
Pages
159 – 164
Language
English
Abstract
A comprehensive survey was conducted in spring 2020 in the germplasm collection of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) in Tal Amara, in order to assess the sanitary status of the main Lebanese cultivars of Prunus species, as well as of three introduced rootstocks, GF677, Myrobalan 29/C and Garnem propagated by tissue culture techniques and maintained at the Plant Biotechnology Department of LARI. A total of 82 samples were collected from peach, apricot, plum and cherry cultivars, in addition to all plantlets regenerated from meristem tip cultures of rootstocks.
All collected samples were tested by ELISA for the presence of apple mosaic virus (ApMV), Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), plum pox virus (PPV), prune dwarf virus (PDV), apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), tomato ring spot virus (ToRSV), tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV), strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV) and raspberry ringspot virus (RpRSV) and by PCR for the detection of Ca. Phytoplasma phoenicium.
After tests, 23 samples were infected by at least one virus, with the highest infection rate in peach cultivars (66.6%), followed by cherry (55.5%), apricot (40%) and plum (10.4%). PDV was the prevailing virus (22%), followed by ApMV (4.8%), ACLSV (3.6%) and PNRSV (3.6%). None of the other viruses and phytoplasmas tested were detected.
In addition, all plantlets regenerated from meristem tip culture were free of viruses and phytoplasmas.
In addition, also the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) was not detected by another ELISA test performed in August on all cultivars in the germplasm collection.
The 59 candidate pathogen-free clones identified in this study, added to the good health status of the new introduced rootstocks, represent a potential promising basis to produce certified plant propagation material in Lebanese nurseries.
All collected samples were tested by ELISA for the presence of apple mosaic virus (ApMV), Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), plum pox virus (PPV), prune dwarf virus (PDV), apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), tomato ring spot virus (ToRSV), tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV), strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV) and raspberry ringspot virus (RpRSV) and by PCR for the detection of Ca. Phytoplasma phoenicium.
After tests, 23 samples were infected by at least one virus, with the highest infection rate in peach cultivars (66.6%), followed by cherry (55.5%), apricot (40%) and plum (10.4%). PDV was the prevailing virus (22%), followed by ApMV (4.8%), ACLSV (3.6%) and PNRSV (3.6%). None of the other viruses and phytoplasmas tested were detected.
In addition, all plantlets regenerated from meristem tip culture were free of viruses and phytoplasmas.
In addition, also the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) was not detected by another ELISA test performed in August on all cultivars in the germplasm collection.
The 59 candidate pathogen-free clones identified in this study, added to the good health status of the new introduced rootstocks, represent a potential promising basis to produce certified plant propagation material in Lebanese nurseries.
Authors
E. Choueiri, F. Jreijiri, S. El Zammar, A. Elbitar, A. Chehade, R. Abou Kubaa, M. Digiaro
Keywords
LARI, ELISA, Prunus species, germplasm, nurseries
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