Susceptibility of mandarins and tangors to Citrus Leprosis under greenhouse conditions

Citrus Leprosis is an important disease affecting sweet oranges in Brazil, and almost all of the studiesperformed to date have included only sweet oranges. The disease is caused by Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C),which infects several citrus and non-citrus host plants, and is transmitted by Brevipalpus phoenicis, acosmopolitan and polyphagous mite. Few studies are available on the response of other citrus genotypes,such as mandarins and their hybrids, to Leprosis. In this work, 56 mandarin (Citrus reticulata) and five tangor(C. reticulata x C. sinensis) genotypes from the Citrus Active Germplasm Collection of Centro Apta CitrosSylvio Moreira (BAG Citros IAC) were assessed for their response to Leprosis using a score scale. Five reps ofeach genotype were infested with viruliferous mites maintained on infected sweet orange fruits. Among thegenotypes tested, only ‘Shikai’ mandarin (accession CN 551) and ‘Dieberger 5’ (accession CV 456) did notpresent any symptoms. ‘Small-fruited 627’ mandarin (accession CN561) was the most susceptible genotypeevaluated, with the highest average score (3.2). The average general score to all genotypes was 1.25. Theresults demonstrated that some mandarins and tangors are resistant to Leprosis, as widely reported in theliterature. However, most genotypes exhibit differential levels of susceptibility to the virus. Financial support: Fapesp, CNPq and Embrapa.