A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: October 2014
Source: New Disease Reports [edited]
<http://www.ndrs.org.uk/article.php?id=030023>
[Ref: E de Neergaard et al (2014): First report of _Potato leafroll virus_, _Potato virus A_, _Potato virus X_ and _Potato virus Y_ in potato in Greenland. New Disease Reports 30, 20; DOI:
10.5197/j.2044-0588.2014.030.020]
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Potatoes in Greenland are produced in the southwestern region, mainly along the fjords of the west coast between 60 deg. N and 61.5 deg. N.
No production of certified seed potatoes has been established in the country, and Greenlandic farmers use either seed tubers imported primarily from Denmark and The Netherlands or home-saved seed tubers.
Planting takes place between late May and mid-June. Shortly after planting, the potato field is normally covered with acrylic or plastic sheets to increase temperature during cultivation. The harvest period is mid-August to mid-September.
A survey for potato viruses was performed between mid-August and the beginning of September during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons.
Tubers or leaves were sampled from plants showing virus symptoms of rugosity and dwarfing from a total of 14 farms in the agricultural region of southern Greenland. In total, 84 samples were collected, 30 leaf and 54 tuber samples.
Leaf samples were dehydrated with calcium chloride to conserve them; the tubers were sprouted in a glasshouse, and, 30 days post-emergence, leaf samples were taken. All samples were analysed for the presence of the most common potato viruses in Europe: _Potato leafroll virus_ (PLRV), _Potato virus A_ (PVA), _Potato virus M_, _Potato virus S_, _Potato virus V_, _Potato virus X_ (PVX), _Potato virus Y_ (PVY), _Tobacco rattle virus_ and _Potato mop-top virus_ (PMTV) by DAS-ELISA using commercially produced antibodies.
The following viruses were identified (with the number of positive samples in brackets): PVY (15), PVA (2), PVX (1) and PLRV (1). To our knowledge, this is the 1st time that potato viruses have been recorded in Greenland. The survey reinforces what is already well-known, that seed tubers are the main pathway for the long-distance dispersal of viruses.
--
Communicated by: ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Around 40 viruses have been reported to affect potato worldwide. A number of them can be spread by aphids, but since the crop is vegetatively propagated, many of them are also disseminated in tubers.
Some viruses may only have a minor effect on yield if they are the only infecting virus species. However, if virus-infected seed tubers are used, the virus population will gradually build up during every crop cycle, both in number of co-infecting (possibly synergistic) virus species and in amounts of infectious units per species. This invariably leads to severely reduced plant vigour and a dramatic drop in yield.
Disease management of potato viruses (and viroids) relies largely on clean planting material, but reduction of available virus reservoirs and vector numbers may also be useful. The important role that tubers play in virus and viroid spread is recognised by the strict requirements for certified seed potato production in many countries worldwide. Seed tuber certification and quarantine indexing is vital for national potato industries.
Control of viruses and reduction of high virus levels in regional crops may be extremely difficult since insect vectors and solanaceous pathogen reservoir hosts are often widespread. Since this may perhaps be less so in a subarctic environment like Greenland, emphasis must be placed on the importance of the use of virus-free seed tubers in such an area.
Maps
Greenland:
<http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/glnewzz.gif>
and
<http://www.vidiani.com/maps/maps_of_north_america/maps_of_greenland/political_map_of_Greenland.jpg>
Europe, overview:
<http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_MAPS/0_map_europe_political_2001_enlarged.jpg>
Pictures
PVY symptoms on potato:
<http://www.inra.fr/hyp3/images/6034404.jpg> (leaves), <http://www.umext.maine.edu/images/PVY.jpg> (leaves), <http://www.inra.fr/hyp3/images/6034401.jpg> (plant) and <http://images.photoresearchers.com/photos/preview/bn/bn3297.jpg>
(tuber necrosis)
PLRV symptoms:
<http://www7.inra.fr/hyp3/images/6034602.jpg> and <http://utahpests.usu.edu/admin/images/uploads/UtahPests/small-fruit-advisory/2008/08-22/potato-leaf-roll.jpg>
PVY & PLRV aphid vector _Myzus persicae_:
<http://bit.ly/NnIFsS>
Potato virus symptoms via:
<http://www.ipmimages.org/browse/AreaSubs.cfm?area=116#?area=116&desc=29&div=2>
and
<http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/PhotoPages/Potatoes/Viruses/PotVirusPhotoList.htm>
Links
Information on _Potato virus Y_:
<http://www.inra.fr/hyp3/pathogene/6potviy.htm>,
<http://www.dpvweb.net/dpv/showdpv.php?dpvno=242> and <http://ictvdb.bio-mirror.cn/ICTVdB/00.057.0.01.001.htm>
Information on PVY and PLRV:
<http://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2492e/>
Information on potato viruses:
<http://www.cipotato.org/library/pdfdocs/TIBen21142.pdf>,
<http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r607101411.html> and <http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Virus_Potato.htm>
List of major potato viruses via:
<http://www.apsnet.org/publications/commonnames/Pages/Potato.aspx>
Virus elimination treatments:
<http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2007.00456.x>
Virus taxonomy via:
<http://ictvonline.org/virusTaxonomy.asp?version=2012>
- Mod.DHA
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at:
<http://healthmap.org/promed/p/526>.]
[See Also:
Viruses, seed potatoes - UK: alert 20141110.2941885
2013
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Potato virus Y, tuber necrotic strains - Ireland: 1st rep
20131122.2068426
Potato viruses - Tanzania: 1st reps 20131011.1995931
2012
----
Potato virus Y - USA: new biocontrol 20120705.1190483
2011
----
Potato virus Y - USA: new strains 20110128.0331
2010
----
Potato mop-top virus - Poland: 1st rep 20100616.2020 Viruses, virus-like pathogens - Pacific Islands 20100514.1572 Potato virus Y - Australia: update 20100329.0984 Potato viruses - Canada: (PE) 20100125.0273
2009
----
Andean potato viruses - Russia: (MS) 20091126.4053 Potato virus Y - South Africa: new strain, spread 20091111.3913 Potato diseases - UK, USA 20090821.2960 Potato virus Y - Switzerland: new strains 20090703.2396 Viruses & nematodes, potato - UK: alert 20090212.0628 Colombian datura virus, multicrop, emerging pathogen 20090107.0069 and older items on potato viruses in the archives]
Topics
Species
