In January 2016, 35 leaf dried samples of chilli pepper (Capsicum sp.) were submitted to Fera Science Ltd, from six districts in Rwanda: Ruhango, Nyanza, Rulindo, Kayonza, Nyagatare and Kirehe. The samples were sent in following the appearance of a suspected virus in the chilli pepper crops. Symptoms before drying included distorted leaves, stunting and mosaic (Fig. 1). Chilli pepper is an important horticultural crop in Rwanda; in 2017, 27 tones chilli pepper were exported, mainly to the UK, The Netherlands and Belgium, worth approximately US $54,000 (National Agricultural Export Development Board, Rwanda). Following a previous finding of an unknown potyvirus in a sample of Capsicum with the same symptoms from Rwanda in June 2015, the samples were tested by ELISA with generic potyvirus antisera from the Leibniz-Institut DSMZ (Braunschweig, Germany). A potyvirus was detected by ELISA in all the samples. To try to identify the potyvirus by sequencing, the samples were tested by PCR using the P9502 and CPUP potyvirus primers (van der Vlugt et al., 3). However, the presence of a potyvirus could not be confirmed in this way. The samples were also tested by ELISA for known potyviruses found in Capsicum, including Chilli veinal mottle virus (DSMZ) and Potato virus Y (Bioreba, Reinach, Switzerland). These ELISA tests were negative. Therefore, one of the samples from the Ruhango region was screened using an Illumina MiSeq as described by Adams et al. (1). Sequences for the following viruses were derived from the MiSeq run and added to GenBank: Pepper veinal mottle virus (PVMV, genus Potyvirus; GenBank Accession No. MG470801, Pepper yellows virus (PeYV, genus Polerovirus; MG470802) which is a newly described virus detected in pepper (Lotos et al., 2), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV, genus Cucumovirus; MG470798, MG470799 and MG470800) and a novel virus which is tentatively a member of the genus Enamovirus (MG470803). Real time PCR assays were designed (Table 1) to PVMV and PeYV and all the samples were tested using these assays. Both PVMV and PeYV were detected in samples from Ruhango, Nyanza and Nyagatare. However, PeYV but not PVMV, was detected in samples from Kayonza, Rulindo and Kirehe. Following the sequencing results the samples were also tested by ELISA to confirm CMV infection (Agdia, Elkhart, Indiana, USA). CMV was detected in the sample tested by next generation sequencing (Ruhango region) and in samples from Nyanza and Rulindo, but not in the samples from Kayonza, Nyagatare and Kirehe. This is the first confirmed report of PVMV and PeYV in Rwanda and the first detection of a novel enamovirus. Work is ongoing to try to characterise the enamovirus. This testing was partially funded through the Defra-Fera Long Term Service Agreement. The authors would like to thank CABI for supporting this work through the Plantwise Programme.

Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) is of great economic importance to Uganda. However, its production is recently impeded by the ambrosia twig borer Xylosandrus compactus. A survey was conducted in 10 randomly selected districts in the main Robusta coffee-growing regions of mid-eastern, central and mid-western Uganda to determine (1) diversity, incidence and abundance of twig borers attacking C. canephora in Uganda and (2) ambrosia fungi associated with these twig borers. In each district, 10 randomly selected farms were inspected for twig borer species attacks. Up to 20 twigs infested by twig borers per farm were sampled and dissected to morphologically identify borer species inside the twigs and enumerate different stages of the borers per twig. Ambrosia fungi from galleries of each distinct twig borer were isolated and identified using molecular techniques. Five twig borer species, X. compactus, Xylosandrus sp., Hypothenemus sp. and two unidentified twig borers (K1 and K2), were found attacking C. canephora. Whereas the rest of these species were detected in only single coffee twigs from single farms, X. compactus occurred in nine of the 10 study districts. The proportion of X. compactus-infested farmsin each of these districts ranged from 0.1 to 1 and the number of X. compactus individuals per twig per district ranged from 2.5 ± 1.9 to 29 ± 28.1. Fusarium solani was isolated from galleries of both X. compactus and K1, whereas Glomerella cingulata was isolated from a gallery of K2.