Articles
PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON VIRUS LIKE DISEASES OF ALMOND
Investigations were therefore initiated for establishing the nature of these diseases and identifying Prunus species and/or varieties as possible indicators for a quick diagnosis.
In 1989, three different almond sources (cv.
Filippo Ceo), two affected by black line and one by stem pitting, were budded onto seedlings of P. persica cv.
Elberta and P. amygdalus cvs.
Don Carlo and Cristomorto.
Two different symptomless sources of the same cultivar served as control.
In 1990, two new sources of cv.
F. Ceo with black line symptoms were grafted onto seedlings of P. persica, P. cerasifera, P. amygdalus cv.
Don Carlo, GF 305, self-rooted cuttings of GF 677 (P. persica x P. amygdalus) and onto Don Carlo and GF 305 seedlings that had been already grafted with almond cv.
Genco, Tuono or F. Ceo.
The results of graft transmission tests, assessed by observing symptoms on the wood after removal of the cortex, were positive.
Stem pitting developed on cv.
Elberta peach seedlings and cv.
Cristomorto almond seedlings during the first and second year after grafting, respectively.
Less clear-cut were the responses of inoculated seedlings to black line, except for P. cerasifera, which developed a stem pitting condition on the rootstock.
Clearer symptoms (invaginations, pits and grooves at the graft union) were obtained when almond/almond and almond/peach graft combinations were used.