Control of virus diseases of berry crops

Virus control in berry crops starts with the development of plants free of targeted pathogens, usually viruses, viroids, phytoplasmas, and systemic bacteria, through a combination of testing and therapy. These then become the top-tier plants in certification programs and are the source from which all certified plants are produced, usually after multiple cycles of propagation. In certification schemes, efforts are made to produce plants free of the targeted pathogens to provide plants of high health status to berry growers. This is achieved using a systems approach to manage virus vectors. Once planted in fruit production fields, virus control shifts to disease control where efforts are focused on controlling viruses or virus complexes that result in disease. In fruiting fields, infection with a virus that does not cause disease is of little concern to growers. Virus control is based on the use of resistance and tolerance, vector management, and isolation.