COMPARATIVE RESULTS OF DETECTION OF POME FRUIT VIRUSES BY DIFFERENT METHODS

Twenty selected pome fruit cultivars, i.e., 11 apple, 6 pear and 3 quince cultivars, were propagated and tested for the presence of economically important viruses, ACLSV, ASPV, ASGV and ApMV, through different methods. Reliability of virus detection was tested by biological indexing under field conditions over 2002–2005 comparatively with laboratory DAS-ELISA tests as well as by RT-PCR method for ASPV and ASGV. The stated viruses, either individually or in mixed infection, were detected in 7 of the tested cultivars, except for ApMV which was not detected in any of the cultivars both by biological and laboratory testing. In detection of ACLSV the results obtained did not depend on the used technique, biological indexing or DAS-ELISA, which justifies usage of DAS-ELISA for routine testing. Bearing in mind time and space required for biological indexing, obtained results have also suggested that both ASPV and ASGV may be positively and more rapidly detected by RT-PCR. Both of these viruses were detected by DAS-ELISA tests in flower petals of all infected apple cultivars. This kind of sample is not always available, particularly not during certification process, which makes routine usage of DAS-ELISA unreliable in detection of these viruses. In contrast to apples, although the results are preliminary, it was not possible to detect ASPV neither in young leaves nor in flower petals of pear isolates.