Determination of prevalence of sharka disease (Plum pox virus) in Bursa

Sharka disease caused by Plum pox virus (PPV) is the most important viral disease of stone fruit trees and causes serious economic losses. Surveys were carried out to define the prevalence of sharka disease in stone fruit orchards in Bursa province. Samples were collected from Yenisehir, Gursu, Osmangazi, Mudanya, Orhangazi and Inegol districts from April to June 2015. A total of 166 leaf samples from stone fruit (plum, peach, nectarine and cherry) and almond trees were tested. Double antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) was used to detect the presence of the virus in collected samples. Based on the results of DAS-ELISA, the prevalence of PPV in Bursa was found to be as average 24.1%. The highest PPV infection was found in Inegol with the infection rate of 57.1% and followed by Orhangazi, Gursu, Yenisehir, Osmangazi and Mudanya districts with the infection rate of 50.0%, 27.3%, 25.0%, 10.0%, and 7.1%, respectively. The highest PPV infection was detected in plum (41.7%) and then nectarine (40%) and peach (16.5%). PPV was not detected in cherry and almond trees