Survey for the Four Major Viruses in Potato ‘Poluranka’ Local Cultivar in Herzegovina

Potato production is directly infl uenced by various biological factors among which the most important viruses take the place. Th ere are more than 20 known viruses that aff ect potato causing malformation in growth and yield reduction. In order to preserve the native potato cultivar ‘Poluranka’, which is historically dominant cultivar in the mountainous region of Herzegovina (western part of BiH), it is necessary to take phytosanitary measures. Many other indigenous plant genetic resources are gone forever from this region and this cultivar should not share the same fate. A main aim of this research was identifi cation of some viruses that cause infections on this native potato tuber since there are no such offi cial results. Th e fi rst step in achieving this was testing the existing plant material for the presence of four economically most important potato viruses. Th e paper presents the results of DAS ELISA on samples taken from two locations in Herzegovina (Jasenica and Rakitno) that showed 100% infection with viruses PLRV and PVY on all 180 collected samples of seed tubers of ‘Poluranka’. Until this research, health quality of ‘Poluranka’ was not tested and adequate measures to preserve this useful breeding material were not taken. Propagation in vitro should be used to gain healthier propagation material for better yield, preservation and maintenance of Herzegovina native potato ‘Poluranka’.