A nationwide survey was performed to investigate the current incidence of viral diseases in Korean sweet potatoes for germplasm and growing fields from 2011 to 2014. A total of 83.8% of the germplasm in Korea was infected with viruses in 2011. Commercial cultivars that were used to supply growing fields were infected at a rate of 62.1% in 2012. Among surveyed viruses, the incidence of five Potyvirus species that infect sweet potato decreased between 2012 and 2013, and then increased again in 2014. Representatively, the incidence of Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) was 87.0% in 2012, 20.7% in 2013 and then increased to 35.3% in 2014. Unlike RNA viruses, DNA viruses were shown to decrease continuously. The incidence of Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) was 5.5% in 2003, 59.5% in 2011, and 47.4% in 2012. It then decreased continuously year by year to 33.2% in 2013, and then 25.6% in 2014. While the infection rate of each virus species showed a tendency to decline, the virus infection status was more variable in 2013 and 2014. Nevertheless, the high rate of single infections and mixed infection combinations were more variable than the survey results from 2012. As shown in the results from 2013, the most prevalent virus infection was a single infection at 27.6%, with the highest rate of infection belonging to sweet potato symptomless virus-1 (SPSMV-1) (12.9%). Compared to 2013, infection combinations were more varied in 2014, with a total of 122 kinds of mixed infection.
Keywords: occurrence survey; sweet potato; virus incidence.