Citrus plants are natural hosts to several phytopathogens,
including viroids, many of which have a significant economic
impact on the crop. This research was to identify molecularly
the Citrus bent leaf viroid (CBLVd) as well as Hop stunt viroid
(HSVd) in citrus in Palestine. Field inspections were conducted
during August 2020; where virus and virus-like symptoms were
noted as epinasty; vein discoloration and leaf deformation
were noticed in the citrus germplasm collection in the National
Agriculture Research Center (NARC). Using a two-step RT-PCR
detection method, HSVd was detected in 9.5% of samples and
CBLVd in 7%. The amplified amplicons of both detected viroids
were sequenced and deposited in gene bank as Palestinian
isolates under the accession numbers PQ084650 and PQ084651,
respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular identification
of CBLVd and HSVd in citrus in Palestine.
