Grapevine yellows affecting Croatian autochthonous grapevine cultivar 'Grk'

Abstract

The grapevine cultivar Grk, a close relative of Crljenak kastelanski/Zinfandel, is grown exclusively in southern Croatia. Grapevine yellows-like symptoms were observed on vines in the vineyards in Lumbarda (southern Croatia) and in propagated grapevines near Zadar and Zagreb. The majority of the detected phytoplasma isolates belonged to the 16SrI group. However, RFLP pattern and R16F2n/R2 fragment sequence assigned one isolate to the 16SrIII group. Thus far, on cv. Grk, phytoplasmas belonging to three different groups have been detected: 16SrI, 16SrIII, and 16SrXII, which was confirmed previously. Aside from the 16SrI, 16SrV and 16SrXII phytoplasma groups previously found on grapevines in Croatia, the finding of 16SrIII group, which is not common on grapevines in Europe, adds to the diversity of phytoplasmas in a very small geographic region.