NEW METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF VIRUSES INFECTING RUBUS PLANTS – VERIFICATION IN DIAGNOSTIC PRACTICE [NOVÉ METODY DETEKCE VIRŮ INFIKUJÍCÍCH ROSTLINY RODU RUBUS – OVĚŘENÍ V DIAGNOSTICKÉ PRAXI]

Viruses infecting plants of the genus Rubus are among the pathogens that can cause significant economic losses to growers. As there is no effective treatment, it is necessary to plant healthy propagation material to prevent their spreading. To test plant material of the genus Rubus, real-time PCR-based multiplex detection systems have been developed for the diagnostics of known viruses: Black raspberry necrosis virus (BRNV), Raspberry ringspot virus (RpRSV), Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV), Strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV), Rubus yellow net virus (RYNV); and the newly discovered Raspberry rubodvirus 1 (RaRV1) and Raspberry enamovirus 1 (RaEV1). The aim of the work was to verify the functionality of these systems on samples from living plants and to evaluate the presence of each virus in five categories corresponding to different origins of samples obtained in the Czech Republic. The results of the testing show that out of a total of 297 samples tested, 72 % of the plants were found to be infected with either a single virus or co-infected with multiple viruses. The most frequently occurring virus was RYNV, which was found in 51 % of the plants tested.