ChileanJAR

The work presented here aimed the determination of potato viruses by applying various test methods.
By using inclicator hosts, viruses of potato and other crops can be identified, The presence of viruses can be established easily by the appearance of typical symptoms after inoculation of an indicator host.
Five patato varieties tested serologically. The results of the tests demonstrated the presence of the potato viruses X, Y, S and M in the tested the varieties.
By applying the tuber-index method (planting a piece of a potato tuber with a sprout, in a pot) it was possible to establish the presence of "mild mosaic" (virus X), "severe mosaic" (virus Y), "rugose mosaic" (a complex of X and Y) and "leaf roll" by watching the symptoms.
By applying the Igel-Lange method, "leaf roll" could be determined in different varieties, The Igel-Lange test enables the determination of "leaf roll" virus in potato tubers by demonstrations of callose.
From the tests it has becarne clear that the tested varieties all showed a rather high percentage of virus infection. Moreover it was possible to establish the reliability of the different test methods.