Selection of mild virus strains of fanleaf degeneration by comparative field performance of infected grapevines

Abstract

Healthy clones of Vitis vinifera L. cultivars Klevener de Heiligenstein, Chardonnay and Pinot noir were graft-inoculated with one clone of the rootstock Kober 5BB infected with potential mild strains of arabis mosaic virus (ArMV-Ta) or grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV-CB844 or -F13). Such infected vines were planted in a nematode-free replant site and screened for comparative field performance on pruning weight, crop yield, bunch weight, and sugar content over a 5-year period. ArMV-Ta had the mildest impact on both vigor and yield for all three V. vinifera cultivars tested. The impact of ArMV-Ta, along with the other two GFLV strains, was much less evident during the last two years of the trial. Based on these results, ArMV-Ta was selected as a potential mild strain for cross-protection to control fanleaf degeneration. Our field trial also showed that field performance of infected vines was not affected by the vein mosaic virus-like disease.