Pome fruit-virus interactions using combined therapies and meristem culture

Producing virus-free plants is required for disease management, the importation of innovative varieties from other nations, the transmission of breeding materials among regions, and the preservation of plant germplasm. Two commercial pear cultivars (Spadona and Mellina) as well as an apple genotype (Red flesh-Shahrood) were checked for six viral disease, employing thermotherapy (0, 7, 14, and 21 days at 38 °C), ribavirin (0, 20, 40, and 80 mg.L−1), and sodium nitroprusside (0, 10, 17, 25, 50, and 70 µM) followed by subculturing of different apical meristem culture sizes (less than 0.2 mm, 0.2 to 0.7 mm, and larger than 0.7 mm). Before meristem culture, seedlings were exposed to heat and chemicals. When compared to thermotherapy, ribavirin 40 mg.L−1 treatment was shown to be significantly more effective against mixed virus infections of the Red flesh genotype with 64.45%. SNP treatments were also more effective than thermotherapy and ribavirin-based chemotherapy; all grown apple and pear explants from SNP treatments were free of the ASPV virus. Additionally, the influence of dissected meristem size was notable; when therapies were combined, meristems smaller than 0.2 mm had a higher average rate of virus elimination than other samples. As soon as a year had passed after the trials concluded, the virus-free samples were reproduced, rooted and transplanted into pots for further propagation and establishment of the mother orchard.