DEFORMATION AND DISCOLORATION OF APRICOT FRUITS

Occasionally, young fruits show symptoms and, when they appear, fruitlets are severely misshaped and drop in few days. As soon as the fruits begin to ripe, the surface shows green, depressed islands and the fruits appear misshapen and discoloured at maturity. Symptoms are unevenly expressed on the leaves and appear in late summer in the form of yellowish or reddish spots. During the same period, several leaves turn yellow, showing green spots and lines, and shortly after they drop. All the diseased are markedly overgrown at the graft union and show an excessive development of root suckers. Removal of the bark from the graft area reveals thick tissue and, sometime, a brown area between the scion and the rootstock.

Biological and ELISA tests carried out during three years on an diseased apricots have shown the presence of apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (CLSV). In some trees, showing also severe prunus necrotic ring spot virus (PNRV) and prune dwarf virus (PDV) were detected too.

Virus-free apricot "Cafona" top grafted on some diseased "Tyrinthos" trees produced fruits showing necrotic depression and /or large necrotic areas on the skin, symptoms similar to those of "Butteratura" and "Viruela" both associated with CLSV infection.

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