Research was conducted to provide an up-to- date assessment of the problem in the region and to develop new molecular tools to improve detection of this disease complex. Over two years, 96 small fruit fields and vineyards were sampled in the PNW. In total 43 vineyard, 24 blueberry, 15 raspberry, 8 blackberry, 5 strawberry and one ribes fields were assessed for dagger nematode and nepoviruses. The highest incidence of dagger nematode was found in grape vines (79 %) followed by raspberry and blueberries. The population densities were 56 and 37 nematodes per 250 cc of soil in grapes and blueberry, respectively. Tomato ringspot virus (ToRSV) was found in three blueberry fields, while, in grape, raspberry and ribes only one field each. Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) was found in six vineyards. The thresholds for dagger nematode population have not been clearly defined, but it is assumed that 10 nematodes per 250 cc of soil is a potential risk for virus spread. Toward developing new molecular tools to apply to the problem, it was discovered that current detection methods for ToRSV and TRSV are not inclusive, targeting raspberry isolates mainly. To address this issue, we first focused on ToRSV and gathered about 30 different isolates from different host, ran a panel of seven publicly available test, and sequenced viral genomes. With this data, we are designing a new assay to test in plants and nematodes. This effort significantly increased the understanding of nematode vectored viruses in the region and demonstrated that while the nematode vector, dagger nematode, is widespread in the region,the viruses that this nematode transmits are not.