The Citrus Variety Improvement Program in Turkey

Most of the citrus trees in Turkey were infected with one or more viruses and virus like diseases which caused large economic losses. The establishment of a Citrus Variety Improvement Program in Turkey (CVIPT) was needed to solve this problem in 1988. To accomplish the objective, greenhouse facilities covering 7.000 m² were established to conduct biological indexing and to maintain virus-tested, foundation plants, and also to also to obtain virus free budwood. A laboratory facility was constructed and equipped to do shoot tip grafting (STG), thermotherapy, serological and molecular analysis. Between 1995 and 2022, 493 clones of 287 citrus cultivars (125 oranges, 60 mandarins, 67 lemons, 14 grapefruits, 21 others) have been eliminated of all citrus graft-transmissible pathogens by STG in this program. Within the scope of this program, biological and molecular methods are used for the testing of individuals obtained by shoot tip grafting. The obtained virus-free budwood is multiplied at the nursery and distributed to citrus producers. All virus-free citrus cultivars are also preserved in genetic resource block.