The "Sudden Death Syndrome" of oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki L) described from the southeastern USA almost 30 years ago has been associated with infection by Xylella fastidiosa using PCR. The association between symptoms and the etiological agent is not absolute. Moreover, several viroids (Apple fruit crinkle viroid [AFCVd], Persimmon viroid [PEVd], Persimmon viroid 2 [PeVd 2], Citrus viroid VI [CVd VI - formerly referred to as Citrus viroid OS]) and viruses (Persimmon virus A [PeVA], Persimmon virus B [PeVB], Persimmon cryptic virus [PeCV], and Persimmon latent virus [PeLV]) have also been detected both in persimmon germplasm showing the "Sudden Death Syndrome" and in trees that displayed no distinct symptoms typical of infection by viruses or viroids.