AN OVERVIEW OF SHARKA AND ITS RESEARCH IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

M. Navrátil , D. Safářová
Sharka is considered to be economically the most serious viral disease of fruit trees in the Czech Republic. The first unquestionable record of its occurrence comes from Atanasoff who noticed the typical sharka symptoms on fruits of ‘Brňanka’ plum during his visit in Brno, Moravian region, in 1932. The comprehensive investigation for the Plum pox virus in the former Czechoslovakia was done in the first half of the 1950s. Recently, the Czech Republic has been classified as a country with endemic occurrence of Plum pox virus (PPV). Sharka is widespread and it is infecting mainly plums (Prunus domestica), myrobalanes (Prunus cerasifera), Damson plums (Prunus insitia), apricots (Prunus armeniaca), peaches (Prunus persica), and blackthorns (Prunus spinosa). The occurrence of three PPV strains has been confirmed. The PPV-D is predominant and is infecting mainly plums in intensive orchards, private gardens and alleys, but the apricots and myrobalanes are affected too. PPV-M is the only strain infecting peaches in South Moravia, and it is sporadically infecting apricots and myrobalanes. PPV-Rec strain has been found until now only in South Moravia, infecting plums and sporadically myrobalanes. The vector transmission and the movement of infected plant materials are two main ways involved in the widespread PPV dissemination in the Czech Republic. The control of health status and eradication of infected trees were recommended and applied as a routine and effective procedure of PPV virus control from the second half of last century. Up to date, use of certified virus free plant material for establishing of new plum, apricot and peach orchards and keeping of space isolation distances have led to the considerable improvement of the PPV health status of orchards.
Navrátil , M. and Safářová, D. (2015). AN OVERVIEW OF SHARKA AND ITS RESEARCH IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC. Acta Hortic. 1063, 21-28
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1063.1
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1063.1
Plum pox virus, occurrence, host range, genetic variability, diagnosis, control
English

Acta Horticulturae