Acta Horticulturae Sinica, vol.1163, no.1163, pp.53-56, 2017 (Scopus)
Sharka disease is very dangerous for stone fruit production and is caused by
Plum pox virus (PPV). It can be easily transmitted by many aphid species in a nonpersistent
manner, by grafting (nursery trade), and has a very wide host range among
Prunus species including plums, peach, nectarines, apricot, almond, cherry, and wild
Prunus species. PPV is an EPPO A2 quarantine pest and is considered as a quarantine
pathogen for EPPO, NAPPO and many other countries. It has been also a quarantine
pest for Turkey and a strict policy of eradication programs was organized by the
Turkish Agriculture and Livestock Ministry. Plant samples were collected from the
Eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey by the Institute of Directorate of Provincial
Food Agriculture and Livestock in Adana province and analyzed by DAS-ELISA for PPV.
According to DAS-ELISA results, 40 samples of 269 were found to be infected by PPV.
The average infection rate was 14.87% and, among the infected samples, the highest
infection rate was found in apricots. These results were reported to the Ministry of
Food, Agriculture and Livestock, and all PPV-infected orchards were immediately
eradicated.