Asparagus

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is an important crop plant for human consumption due to its rich content of minerals, proteins, fibers, and vitamins as well as its pleasant taste. At least 10 virus species are known to infect asparagus crops. These viruses belong to the Alphaflexiviridae, Bromoviridae, Potyviridae, Secoviridae, and Virgaviridae families. Their infection can be symptomless in asparagus; nevertheless, they can cause plant death, and reduced vigor and yield. Asparagus viruses can also be present in mixed infections causing more severe damage to yield, e.g., asparagus virus 1 and asparagus virus 2. The absence of clear symptoms for asparagus viruses makes it hard to identify correctly the cause of the disease. Several methods are used for asparagus viruses' diagnostics, i.e., bioassays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, and high-throughput sequencing. Until now, no virus-resistant asparagus cultivars have been reported.