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During seasonal inspections and a need for detection of fruit tree pathogens, diagnostic laboratories often have to deal with situations where a large number of samples have to be analyzed in a short time. We therefore focused on the development of a faster and more efficient diagnostic procedure for the detection of Plum pox virus (PPV). A relatively cheap and simple serological method, the double antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), is usually used to detect PPV in plant material. The standard detection time for the DAS-ELISA kit sold by Bioreba AG is 32 hours. The optimization of the method involved reducing the incubation times and increasing the incubation temperature. At the same time, it was necessary to increase the antibody concentration to maintain the sensitivity of the method. Pathogen detection using a modified DAS-ELISA method from Bioreba AG can provide in one working day (8.5 h).

Within the plum gene pool collection, where more than 150 genotypes of individual pomological groups were planted, a core collection was created taking into account the behaviour of the genotypes to the plum virus and their pomological groups. The infection was carry out on the base of field tolerance, without artificial infection in conditions of medium pressure of plum pox virus. Pomological groups were simplified and modified according to Hegi classification and the core collection was compiled based on the diversity of pomological groups and resistance to plum pox. Perspective genotypes were selected in each pomological group from the point of view of growing practice, breeding and processing.

Plum pox virus (PPV) is of the most important and harmful virus disease of plums, apricots, and peaches. Previous research has shown the non-transmissibility of PPV by aphids to genetically modified ’HoneySweet’ plum cultivar and to PK clone of BN4Kr myrobalan rootstock. In our experiments, the hypothesis was verified that non-transmissibility of PPV by aphids also exists in more resistant non-transgenic cultivars of plum or apricot. Therefore, relatively resistant cultivars of plum ’Gabrovská’, ’Anna Späth’, ’Althanova renklóda’ and apricot ’Harcot’, ’Hargrand’, ’Krajová raná’, grafted on the aphid transmission resistant myrobalan rootstock PK, were tested in pilot plantation conditions. None of the tested plum and apricot cultivars were naturally infected with PPV by aphid transmission. However, during monitoring in particular years, the successive die back of the ’Krajová’ and ’Hargrand’ apricot trees was noted, probably due to the poor affinity with PK myrobalan. Monitoring will continue in the following years.