Cherry virus Turkey (CVTR; Robigovirus) was detected by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology for the first time in Türkiye and was later reported from Greece. Cherries infected with robigoviruses may display various symptoms, resulting in decreased growth, low yield, and death of trees. However, there are limited data available on CVTR. This study focused on the prevalence of CVTR in cherry orchards in different geographical regions of Türkiye and investigated its biological features via mechanical inoculations on herbaceous plants and grafting on woody indicator plants. During several surveys, 219 samples were collected from cherry trees exhibiting virus-like symptoms in cherry-growing areas, including the Aegean region (Izmir), central Anatolia (Konya and Niğde), the Marmara region (Bursa), and the Mediterranean region (Antalya and Osmaniye). When the samples were tested by RT-PCR using specific primers amplifying the complete coat protein gene of the virus, and the overall infection rate was 20.09% (44 samples). The nucleotide sequence identity among Turkish isolates ranged from 87.7% to 100%, and the amino acid sequence identity ranged from 98.7% to 100%. In phylogenetic analysis, all Turkish CVTR isolates clustered together, except for two isolates from Bursa. Although mechanical transmission of CVTR to herbaceous hosts was unsuccessful, the virus was effectively transmitted through grafting to woody hosts with a success rate of 60%.
