Plum Pox Virus (PPV) Dispersion in Plum Trees (Prunus domestica. L) CV. D’Agen

Abstract

Sharka, it is considered one of the most serious diseases of stone fruits worldwide. It is transmitted long distances by propagating material and by aphids close to an infection focus. In San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina, it made a study of dispersion's degree of the disease in a plum plantation CV D'Agen. Samples were taken in the spring of the basal part of open leaves. A DAS-ELISA test was made using a protocol in agreement with SENASA and INASE (2007) on 750 plants. Infection percentages found were 4.4%; 6.4%; 8.53% and 10.1%; between the first until last year of study. These numbers indicate a degree of dissemination of the disease similar than described by the Chileans and slower than described by the Spanish and French. Several factors can be responsible for the speed of dispersion of diseases like Sharka: vector quantities, presence of parasites and predators, closeness to inoculants sources, different degree of susceptibility of the species or cultivar to the disease or insect or others. This work can serve as a base for further studies on the incidence of diverse factors in the process of disease dispersion.