Quality improvement of the grapevine planting stock through virus elimination by in vitro chemotherapy

Abstract

In the context of durable viticulture, the initial propagating material is primarily responsible for the health of vineyards from the virological point of view, also this having an important role in controlling the spread of virus diseases. This study analyzed the behavior of grapevine genotype infected with Grapevine fleck virus ('Regina viilor'), and grapevine genotypes infected with GFkV and Grapevine Pinot gris virus ('Pinot gris 14 Șt.', 'Merlot 146 Mn.', 'Balaban alb') when applying in vitro chemotherapy with ribavirin and oseltamivir used simultaneously, with the aim of new virus-free plants regeneration. Regarding the phytotoxic effect of antivirals, the apices and axillary buds of 'Pinot gris 14 Șt.' and 'Regina viilor' showed good tolerance to treatment, while the explants of 'Balaban alb' and 'Merlot 146 Mn.' were seriously affected, especially the axillary buds. The chemotherapy led to the effective elimination of Grapevine fleck virus in all studied grapevine genotypes, while Grapevine Pinot gris virus was eliminated in a rate of 75-100%, depending on the genotype and type of explant. The phytotoxic effect induced by antivirals, the tolerance of genotypes to certain treatment and the in vitro regenerative potential of each genotype proved to be the main factors influence the efficiency of the applied treatment and the number of virus-free plants obtained.