The tea plant [ Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] is one of the most significant commercial crops in Iran. Symptomatic leaves including chlorina on the edge of the leaf, and multiple necrotic ring blotches on mature leaves from different tea gardens were observed in northern Iran. RT-PCR analysis and transmission electron microscopy observations were applied to characterize the causal agent of tea leaf discoloration. Sequence analyses of the fragments revealed that all the samples were infected with tea plant necrotic ring blotch virus (TPNRBV). To our knowledge this is the first report of TPNRBV in Iran and the second in the world.

Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) is one of the most significant commercial crops in Iran. In 2015 a destructive disease of kiwifruits was observed in orchards, storage facilities and retail markets, resulting in great economic loss to producers. In this study phenotypic and molecular techniques were applied to characterize the causal agent of kiwifruit rot observed in Mazandaran province, northern Iran. From the similarity among the results of pathogenicity tests, equivalency with standard taxonomic criteria for disease and PCR-based analysis of the ITS region, all the isolates were identified as Botryosphaeria dothidea.