DETECTION OF APPLE MOSAIC VIRUS ON APPLE CULTIVARS GROWING IN SOUTH-WEST TURKEY BY ELISA AND RT-PCR METHODS

Apple (Malus × domestica) is one of the most widely grown fruit crops in the world. With an annual production of 2.5 million metric tones, Turkey is the third largest producer of apples in the world. Providing 25% of the total amount of apple production, the south-west region is the most important apple production region in Turkey. Apple mosaic Ilarvirus (ApMV) is one of the most common pathogens of apples worldwide. Observations of bright chlorotic mosaic symptoms on apple trees in Isparta province during field surveys indicated the presence of this virus in the region. To test the presence of this virus in apple orchards, leaf samples were collected from different apple cultivars in a number of orchards in the region. The samples were first tested by double antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) for ApMV. Some of the samples were then tested by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using primers specific to coat protein gene of ApMV.