Poster: Diseases of Plants: Disease Detection & Diagnosis
468-P
Current Status of Grapevine Virus Diseases in British Columbia
S. POOJARI (1), J. Boulé (1), N. DeLury (1), T. Lowery (1), M. Rott (2), A. Schmidt (2), J. Úrbez Torres (1) (1) Summerland Research and Development Centre, Canada; (2) Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canada
Grapevine leafroll disease (GLRD), caused by Grapevine leafroll associated viruses (GLRaVs), is considered the most wide spread virus disease of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) worldwide. British Columbia (BC) is the second largest grape-growing region in Canada with most of the acreage planted in the Okanagan Valley. To understand the epidemiology of GLRaVs in BC vineyards, a comprehensive survey was conducted during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons throughout all wine growing regions of BC. The status of GLRaVs in BC was determined by analyzing a total of 2740 random composite samples representing 12 white and 9 red cultivars. Both ELISA and PCR based diagnostic test results showed GLRaV-3 to be the most prevalent (23.9%) followed by GLRaV-2 (7.1%), GLRaV-1 (2.7%) and GLRaV-4 (2.7%). GLRaVs mixed infections were detected in different combinations from composite samples with GLRaV-1 + GLRaV-3 (2.5%) to be the most common, followed by GLRaV-2 + GLRaV-3 (2.1%) and GLRaV-3 + GLRaV-4 (0.9%). Our results also revealed the presence of Grapevine fan leaf virus, Grapevine fleck virus, Grapevine Pinot gris virus, Grapevine red blotch associated virus and Rupestris stem pitting associated virus (RSPaV). These results along with information generated on the disease progress and insect vectors in BC will emphasize the importance of a clean plan network program for sustainability of Canadian wine grapes.