ASGV has apple, pear, oriental Pyrus including nashi and some ornamental plants
as natural hosts. The virus is quite stable and replicates in the cambium
in low titers.
ASGV does not cause obvious symptoms in commercial cultivars. Virginia
Crab may be used as an indicator plant and develops long grooves on the woody
stems. Swelling of the scion stem at the union with the rootstock often occurs. The
scion component eventually dies.
Leaves are small, pale green, and drop prematurely.
Formerly unknown in Europe, ASGV is detected in 75 % of nashi and other pomaceous
species imported from Japan and in 25 % of apple trees imported from the USA.
The virus could be epidemic, given its frequency, but no vector is known.