Grapevine virus diseases: Economic impact and current advances in viral prospection and management

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is a major vegetative propagated fruit crop with high socioeconomic importance worldwide. It is susceptible to several graft-transmitted agents that cause several diseases and substantial crop losses, reducing fruit quality and plant vigor, and shorten the longevity of vines. The vegetative propagation and frequent exchanges of propagative material among countries contribute to spread these pathogens, favoring the emergence of complex diseases. Its perennial life cycle further accelerates the mixing and introduction of several viral agents into a single plant. Currently, approximately 65 viruses belonging to different families have been reported infecting grapevines, but not all cause economically relevant diseases. The grapevine leafroll, rugose wood complex, leaf degeneration and fleck diseases are the four main disorders having worldwide economic importance. In addition, new viral species and strains have been identified and associated with economically important constraints to grape production. In Brazilian vineyards, eighteen viruses, three viroids and two virus-like diseases had already their occurrence reported and were molecularly characterized. Here, we review the current knowledge of these viruses, report advances in their diagnosis and prospection of new species, and give indications about the management of the associated grapevine diseases.