SANITATION OF FRUIT TREE CULTIVARS FOR THE SYSTEM OF CERTIFICATION OF PLANTING MATERIAL IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Abstract

A system of certification of pathogen free health status of planting material of fruit trees was established in the year 2001 in the Czech Republic. Basic or prebasic mother plants of pathogen free cultivars are growing and regularly tested in technical and space isolates. Research support of the certification system started immediately in 2001 in the CR. The first research project (2001-2004) was directed to pathogen detection and field indicators. Another three research projects were aimed to sanitation of fruit cultivars. The first one (2004-2008) was oriented at thermotherapy of living plants and thermotherapy of in vitro cultures of fruit cultivars. The second research project (2009-2011) was based on the thermotherapy and chemotherapy of in vitro cultures mainly of Czech fruit cultivars. Chemotherapy was proved to be a more efficient method for sanitation of fruit cultivars. Ribavirin and new chemotherapeutics are applied and tested in the third project (2012-2016). Several cultivars of apple, pear, plum, cherry, apricot, and peach were already recovered from virus diseases. Pathogens were more easy removed from pome fruits, apple and pear cultivars. Sanitation of cherry, plum, and apricot cultivars is possible in combination of chemotherapy with in vitro cultures, but more difficult. The most problematic is sanitation of peach cultivars especially in case of Plum pox virus infection.