PLUM POX VIRUS OUTBREAKS IN APULIA AND BASILICATA (SOUTHERN ITALY)

Following the 1988 record of plum pox potyvirus (PPV) infections in plum trees growing in the Ionian coastal plains of Apulia (southern Italy), new outbreaks were detected in plum and apricot orchards located in different areas of the same region.
In all cases the orchards, all of which were less than 10 year-old, had been established with infected propagating material from extraregional sources.
A survey was therefore initiated for assessing the sanitary status of newly established plantings in view of the possible enforcement of an eradication programme.
Surveys were carried out in apricot, plum and peach orchards on a surface of over 350 ha.
A total of 18,000 plants were individually checked by ELISA, all of them for PPV, and about one half for apple chlorotic leafspot closterovirus (ACLSV), apple mosaic (ApMV), prune dwarf (PDV) and prunus necrotic ringspot (PNRV) ilarviruses.

The eradication programme involved 12 plum and apricot orchards (36 ha in total) with varying levels of PPV infection.
Six of these plantings had more than 30% infection and were completely pulled out.
In the remaining stands the infection did not exceed 10% so that uprooting was limited to infected trees.

XV International Symposium on Fruit Tree Diseases

V. Savino, M. Digiaro, G.P. Martelli, B. Di Terlizzi

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.309.16