The dangerous and infectious hop latent viroid that’s been on the radar of many marijuana growers since its discovery in 2018 has spread beyond North America and is threatening to spiral out of control and cause billions of dollars in industry losses, experts are warning.
Researchers are calling the viroid – which is surfacing across the world – “a hidden threat” and the “biggest concern for cannabis and hop growers worldwide.”
“It’s an all-out crisis,” said Av Singh, a Canadian cannabis cultivation adviser also working as the chief science officer of Green Gorilla, a Malibu, California-based manufacturer and online retailer of hemp-derived CBD oils, topicals and pet products. I think we’re not recognizing how big of a crisis it is.”
Zamir Punja, a professor of plant biology for Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, said hop latent viroid (HpLVd) is the No. 1 plant pathogen that the cannabis industry needs to be concerned about.
“You can’t adjust anything, such as environmental controls, to fight it,” Punja said. “It’s either there or it’s not. And once it’s there, and it’s not recognized, then you just automatically spread it.”
Growers can take preventive steps to curb the spread of the viroid, which can be transmitted from plant to plant through a variety of ways, according to experts.
But it’s hard to stop and might never be eliminated, experts said.
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