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Abstract
Blueberry scorch virus (BlScV), first discovered in British Columbia, Canada, in 2000, causes a potentially serious disease on highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). The epidemiology of BlScV was studied over four consecutive years (2001–2004) in British Columbia. In 2001, leaf tissue sampled from 40 commercial fields tested positive for BlScV, when using a polyclonal antibody in a double antibody sandwich – enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In 2002, 2003, and 2004, BlScV was detected in an additional 19, 49, and 12 previously uninfected fields, respectively. Disease spread was studied in more detail by mapping BlScV distribution in three commercial blueberry fields. The percent increase in diseased plants ranged from 4.4% to 5.2% from 2001 to 2002, and from 4.2% to 9.6% from 2002 to 2004. Symptoms on blueberry cultivars in May included necrosis of blossoms and young leaves, leaf chlorosis, and shoot blight; line patterns on the leaves of some infected cultivars were observed in October. BlScV was also detected in two additional Vaccinium spp., namely cranberry (V. macrocarpon) and black huckleberry (V. membranaceum). Reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction with BlScV-specific primers was used to obtain partial sequences of the coat-protein gene for 12 BlScV isolates from blueberry in British Columbia. These sequences were compared with each other and with those of strains from United States (NJ-1, NJ-2, and WA-2) and two strains recently described in British Columbia (BC-1 and BC-2). The 12 British Columbia isolates shared 88%–100% homology with each other and were more closely related to BC-2 and NJ-2 than to BC-1, NJ-1, and WA-2. The high incidence of BlScV in highbush blueberry in British Columbia, the range of symptoms, the presence of BlScV in other Vaccinium spp., and the variability in sequences of the coat-protein gene among strains suggest that the virus is widespread and that different strains are now established in British Columbia.