Comparison of bioassays and laboratory assays for apple stem grooving virus

The standard field double-budding assay with the indicator Virginia Crab and the glasshouse test with the indicator Malus micromalus, were compared with ELISA and immunocapture PCR for the detection of Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) in 102 apple trees and three oriental pear. Twenty-two trees were positive for ASGV by both ELISA and IC-PCR but three of these trees were negative by Virginia Crab, three were negative by M. micromalus and one was negative by both these bioassays. The infected trees were re-tested by IC-PCR and ELISA in a second year; the IC-PCR results were confirmed but two of the 22 infected trees were negative by ELISA. On this evidence, IC-PCR is a more reliable assay for ASGV than the slow and expensive bioassays.