Geographical Distribution of “Bois Noir” Phytoplasmas Infecting Grapevines in the Republic of Macedonia

The main viticultural production areas in the Republic of Macedonia were surveyed in 2006 for the presence of grapevine yellows. PCR and RFLP analyses were used to detect and identify phytoplasmas infecting grapevines. Only phytoplasmas associated with “bois noir” disease (ribosomal subgroup 16SrXII-A or stolbur) were detected. Molecular analyses showed that all phytoplasmas identified belonged to tuf-type II (VKII).