DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PLUM POX VIRUS ISOLATES

SUMMARY- Sharka is a devastating disease affecting many European and Mediterranean areas where stone fruit species are cultivated. The need for a rapid and sensitive detection of the disease, and for the identification of the virus strains as well, stimulated the development of several methods of laboratory diagnosis. In this paper the latest diagnostic methods are listed and briefly discussed. The activity of a European Project for the selection and validation of diagnostic protocols is also presented