Fundamental to the operation of any biosecurity system is to have an accurate host-pathogen registry and one of the main tasks achieved in this project was to review the virus and viroid records from ornamental, turf and native plant species in Australia. A remarkable diversity of viruses was detected in this project, most of which were either new records for Australia or completely new to science. Two of the most significant discoveries were the widespread occurrence of bermuda grass latent virus in green couch grass and cotton bunchy top virus in ornamental hibiscus plants. This project has highlighted the need to pay more attention to ornamental plants as potential reservoirs of infection for viruses of food and fibre crops. Ornamental and Asian vegetable plants as entry pathways for viruses (PBSF024) COMPLETE – Plant Biosecurity Science Foundation (apbsf.org.au)
