VIEW ARTICLE

Effects of Prunus Ringspot Virus on Growth and Productivity of Richards Early Italian Prune Trees. A. W. Helton, Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow 83843; Phytopathology 64:1179-1181. Accepted for publication 9 April 1974. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-64-1179.

Virus-free prune trees growing on eight different rootstocks were infected during their second year with four PRSV (Prunus ringspot virus) strains of differing virulence. The results indicated that: i) PRSV infection tends to stimulate growth of Richards trees (P. domestica), both in trunk size and tree height, but increases in one category do not occur at the expense of the other; ii) fruit yields tend to be enhanced by PRSV infection in general and by mild-strain infection in particular, and production on the commonly used peach and plum rootstocks is significantly enhanced; iii) effects of a given PRSV strain are influenced markedly by rootstock and tree age; and iv) fruit casting is not correlated with production of marketable fruits.