Avocado sunblotch viroid (ASBVd) is a circular and single-stranded RNA viroid (genus Avsunviroid) with a genome of about 250 nucleotides in length (Roberts et al., 2023). It causes sunblotch disease in infected avocado. The viroid is transmitted through infected propagation material, pollen and seed. ASBVd has been reported in most avocado-producing areas and causes significant reductions in yield and fruit quality (Carabez et al., 2019).

In December 2022, plants of avocado (Persea americana) cv Hass exhibiting cracked bark (Figure 1), multiple sunken yellowish crevices on the fruits (Figure 2) and leaves with variegated areas were observed in an orchard in Murang'a County, Kenya. The disease incidence was about 5% in the 3.1 hectare field. Ten diseased fruits were sampled to be tested for ASBVd. Four fruits from asymptomatic trees were also sampled.

Source of information:

https://bsppjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ndr2.12212