PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION OF THE VIRUSES PRODUCING SPANISH APRICOT PSEUDOPOX (VIRUELA) AND APRICOT MOSAIC DISEASES

Peach seedlings react to bud inoculation with dark green sunken mottle symptoms. From petals of infected apricot and peach trees we have transmitted the CLS virus to C. quinoa. The electron microscopy observations of uranyl-acetate stained preparations of concentrated virus suspensions from petals and flowers of infected Bulida apricot trees and from infected C. quinoa showed flexuous filamentous particles similar to CLS. Some fruits of apricot seedlings inoculated with sources of "viruela" in the summer of 1967 showed last year pox symptoms. Concentrated preparation from the skin of these fruits and from other diseased fruits showed some CLS-like filamentous particles.

Serological identification tests with concentrated preparations of this virus showed positive reactions against CLS-antisera.

For the former reasons we believe that CLS virus is the cause of this apricot pox disease.

Apricot mosaic previously described as the cause of Spanish pseudo pox disease is a strain of Prunus like pattern virus (strain of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus) identified by the reaction of herbaceous and woody indicators, serology and electron microscopy.

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