Application of In Vitro Therapy for Ilarvirus Elimination in Three Prunus Species

Apricot {Prunus armeniaca) shoot cultures infected with apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV). peach (Prunus persjca) shoot cultures infected with Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) and ACLSV and sour cherry {Primus mium) shoot cultures infected with prune dwarf virus (PDV) and ACLSV. were selected to evaluate the response of in litro grown shoots to thermotherapy and to eliminate the viruses from the plant. A constant temperature regime was selected for the heat treatment (37 C). The period of heat treatment applied to each cultivar and species was variable, between 15 and 36 days. and the range of success in the elimination of virus had percentages between 37 and 1 OOVo of virus-free plants for PNRSV. 60 to 100% for ACLSV and 85 to 100% for PDV. The combination of the therapy and tissue culture techniques has been shown to be a simple and efficient method to eliminate these viruses in Prunus sp. despite variability observed among species in shoot survival and elimination of the viruses. The advantage of this method in comparison with other methods used in virus elimination in fruit species is discussed