A new Romanian Prunus domestica L. cultivar exhibiting high tolerance to natural infections to plum pox virus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51258/RJH.2025.14Keywords:
plum, sharka, high tolerance, serological diagnosis, visual monitoringAbstract
This study evaluates the long-term behaviour of plum pox virus (PPV) infections within a genetically diverse plum orchard established in 1998 at the Fruit Research & Development Station Bistrița, Romania. The experimental plot comprises six hybrids, including the recently homologated ‘BN 4/1’ hybrid as ‘Zandra’ cultivar, and ten plum cultivars, with a total of 534 trees. Over 20 years (2003–2024), the temporal progression of PPV was monitored through visual inspections and serological tests (DAS-ELISA), revealing a consistent increase in virus incidence from 11.4% to 58.4%. Significant differences in PPV susceptibility were found among the genotypes. Highly susceptible genotypes (‘Diana’, ‘Geta’, ‘HAS 2G’, ‘Tuleu timpuriu’) exhibited infection rates exceeding 83%, while susceptible genotypes showed incidence levels over 60%. Tolerant cultivars such as ‘Stanley’ and ‘Čačanska Najbolja’, displayed moderate infection rates ranging from 40% to 60%. Remarkably, the hybrid ‘BN 4/1’ (‘Zandra’ cultivar) displayed the lowest PPV incidence at just 20%. Infected ‘Zandra’ trees exhibited localized symptoms, confined to one or two shoots per tree, with no evidence of systemic infection throughout the canopy. Detailed serological analyses confirmed the restricted viral movement in symptomatic ‘Zandra’ trees. Moreover, 80% of the trees remained uninfected despite long-term exposure to high inoculum pressure from surrounding infected trees, indicating a high level of tolerance to natural PPV infection. In addition to its viral tolerance, ‘Zandra’ exhibits superior organoleptic qualities, highlighting its potential as a valuable cultivar for sustainable plum production systems.
Downloads
References
Atanasoff, D. (1932). Plum pox. A new virus disease. Yearbook University of Sofia, Faculty of Agriculture and Silviculture 11: 49-69.
Barba, M., Hadidi, A., Candresse, T. and Cambra, M. (2011). Plum pox virus. In Virus-Like Diseases of Pome and Stone Fruits. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, Minnesota. Hadidi A., Barba M., Candresse T. and Jelkmann W. (eds.) pp. 185-197.
Butac, M., Plopa, C., Chivu, M. and Mareși, E. (2021). Behaviour of Serbian plum cultivars under Romanian ecological conditions. Acta Hortic. 1322: 103-108. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1322.16
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1322.16
Butac M., Nesheva M., Chivu M., Stan A., Mareși E., and Nicolae S. (2024). Behaviour of some Bulgarian plum cultivars in the pedo-climatic conditions of Pitesti – Romania area. Romanian Journal of Horticulture, V: 71-76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51258/RJH.2024.08
Cambra, M, Madariaga, M, Varveri , C, Caglayan, K, Morca, AF, Chirkov, S, Glasa, M (2024). Estimated costs of plum pox virus and management of sharka, the disease it causes. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 63(3): 343-365. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/phyto-15581
Clark, M., and Adams, A.N. (1977). Characteristic of the microplate method of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of plant viruses. J. Gen. Virology, 34: 475-483.
Garcia, JA, Rodamilans, B, Martínez-Turino, S, Valli, AA, Simon-Mateo, C, and Cambra, M (2024). Plum pox virus: An overview of the potyvirus behind sharka, a harmful stone fruit disease. Ann Appl Biol., 1-27, DOI:10.1111/aab.12958
Glišić, I.S., Paunović, S.A., Milatović, D., Jevremović, D. and Milošević, N. (2021). Evaluation of promising plum (Prunus domestica L.) genotypes for resistance to causal agents of the most important diseases. Acta Hortic. 1308: 325-332. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1308.46
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1308.46
Hartmann, W., and Neumuller, M. (2006). Breeding for resistance: breeding for Plum pox virus resistant plums (Prunus domestica L) in Germany. OEPP/EPPO Bull. 36: 332-336.
Hartmann, W., and Neumüller, M. (2013). The next generation of European plum cultivars resistant to Plum pox virus. Acta Hortic., 985: 149–154.
Malinovski , T., Cambra, M., Capote, N., Zawadska, B., Gorris, T., Scorza, R., and Ravelonandro, M. (2006). Field trials of plum clones transformed with plum pox virus coat protein (PPV CP) gene. Plant Disease, 90: 1012-1018.
Milošević, N., Glišić, I., Lukić M., Popović, B. and Đorđević, M. (2019). Plum breeding in the Fruit Research Institute of Čačak, Serbia – results of the last 15 years. Acta Hortic. 1260: 29-34. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1260.6 https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1260.6
Minoiu, N. (1997). Bolile și dăunătorii prunului (Plum Diseases and Pests). In: Prunul (The Plum), Cociu, I., Botu, I., Minoiu, N., Modoran, I. (eds.) Editure Conphys, Pitesti, Romania. pp. 343-374.
Polák, J., and Jarošová, J. (2011). Hypersensitivity of Prunus domestica L. “Jojo” was changed by PPV-D strain into very high sensitivity. Acta Hortic., 899: 87-93.
Polák, J., and Jarošová, J. (2012). Susceptibility of plum trees cv. ‘Jojo’ to a Czech isolate of Plum pox virus strain D. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology., 34 (2): 283-287.
Polák, J., Kundu, J., Krška, B., Beoni, E., Komínek, P., Pívalova J., and Jarošová, J. (2017). Transgenic plum Prunus domestica L. clone C5 (cv. HoneySweet) for protection against sharka disease. J. Integr. Agric., 16: 516–522.
Ravelonandro M., Scorza R., Bachelier J.C., Labonne G., Levy L., Damsteegt V., Callahan A.M., and Dunez J. (1997). Resistance of transgenic Prunus domestica to Plum pox virus infection. Plant Disease. 81, 1231–1235.
Ravelonandro, M., Scorza, R. and Hammond, RW. (2011). Biotechnological Aproaches for Resistance to Viruses, Viroids and Phytoplasmas. In Virus-Like Diseases of Pome and Stone Fruits. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, Minnesota. Hadidi A., Barba M., Candresse T. and Jelkmann W. (eds.) pp. 395-399.
Rodamilans, B., Hadersdorfer, J., Berki, Z., García, B., Neumüller, M., and García, J.A. (2023). The mechanism of resistance of European plum to Plum pox virus mediated by hypersensitive response is linked to viral NIa and its protease activity. Plants, 12(8), 1609. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12081609
Scholthof, KB, Adkins, S, Czosnek, H, Palukaitis ,P, Jacquot, E, Hohn, T, Hohn, B, et al. (2011). Top 10 plant viruses in molecular plant pathology. Molecular Plant Pathology, 12: 938-954.
Scorza R., Ravelonandro M., Callahan A.M., Cordts J.M., Fuchs M., Dunez J., and Gonsalves D. (1994). Transgenic plums (Prunus domestica) express the Plum pox virus coat protein gene. Plant Cell. Repts. 14: 18-22.
Scorza, R., Callahan, A., Dardick, C., Ravelonandro, M., Polak, J., Malinowski, T., Zagrai I., Cambra, M., and Kamenova I. (2013). Genetic engineering of Plum pox virus resistance - ‘HoneySweet’ plum - from concept to product. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture. 115 (1). DOI:10.1007/s11240-013-0339-6
Zagrai I., Ravelonandro M., Zagrai L., Scorza R., and Minoiu N. (2011). Overview of the investigations of transgenic plums in Romania. Acta Hortic. 899: 153–158.
Zagrai, L., Zagrai, I., Scorza, R., Ravelonandro, M., Dardick ,C., Guzu, G. (2021). Assessment of agronomic performance of PPV resistant ‘HoneySweet' transgenic plum in ecological conditions of the Northern Romania. Romanian Journal of Horticulture, II, 2021: 49-56. 10.51258/RJH.2021.06.
Zagrai, L., Zagrai ,I., Guzu, G., Roșu-Mareș, S., Moldovan, C. (2024). Is symptomatology reliable tool for plum pox virus monitoringScientific Papers. Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. LXVIII(1), 238-243.
Food and Agricultural Organization. (2025). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
