Serological and Molecular Detection of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus infecting Almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A.Webb) causing bud failure disease in North Western Himalyan region

Abstract

Abstract Almond ( Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A.Webb) known as ‘‘Badam” or King of Nuts is a species of tree native to the Mediterranean region. Almonds are prone to a large number of viruses and among these Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is economically the most important virus prevalent in almond orchards posing threat to their commercial production. Symptoms of PNRSV develop as diffused chlorotic rings or spots which later forms necrotic ‘‘shot holes’’ in leaves or rugosity and typical mosaic accompanied by reduced leaf size. Studies were conducted to ascertain the role of serological indexing in early detection of PNRSV. Alkaline phosphatase based DAS-ELISA was performed on leaf samples drawn from selected symptomatic plants in almond orchards and results based on O.D. values confirmed the presence of PNRSV in almond. RT- PCR was specifically used to characterize PNRSV isolated from leaves of infected almond trees.