Elimination of apple stem grooving virus by chemotherapy and development of an immunocapture RT-PCR for rapid sensitive screening

Summary Ombuin (7,4′‐dimethyl quercetin) (10 μg ml‐1, for 12 wk), glycyrrhizin/quercetin (80 μg ml‐1and 10 μg ml‐1respectively, for 18 wk), ribavirin (10 μg ml‐1, for 12 wk) and quercetin/ribavirin (10 μg ml‐1each, for 9–12 wk) reduced the titre of apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) when applied in vitro to infected tissue cultures of Nicotiana occidentalis obliqua Wheeler, and/or Malus domestica. ASGV was not detectable in both plant species after the quercitin/ribavirin treatment when tested by ISEM, herbaceous host indexing, RT‐PCR, and immunocapture RT‐PCR. A sensitive immunocapture RT‐PCR procedure for the detection of ASGV was developed for the screening of treated samples to assess antiviral activity.