It is reported that since the early outbreaks of tinangaja, coconut groves have been neglected on Guam, and the disease has not been considered as economically important. However, a high incidence of tinangaja has again been observed in some areas of Guam. Therefore, there is a need for adequate diagnostic methods to understand better the epidemiology of the disease and develop control measures. A method has been developed to detect and identify CTiVd in leaf samples.
Detection is based on extraction from plant tissues followed by agarose gel electrophoresis.
Specific identification of coconut tinangaja viroid for differential field diagnosis of viroids in coconut palm .