![]() Prune and plant boxwood to promote good airflow in and around the plant.Īvoid overhead irrigation. Lessen or eliminate sharing of tools across other landscapes. Use nurseries, landscapers, and lawn care companies who are aware of and educated about the disease and use practices to prevent introducing or spreading the disease.Ĭlean tools and equipment regularly, and launder clothes daily. The best way to avoid Boxwood Blight on new plantings of boxwood is to simply plant a cultivar which is more resistant to the disease. ![]() If there are many infected plants, ideal weather for an extended period, and many plants of a susceptible cultivar, then you would expect a major problem with the disease. Then the disease will appear, and the severity of the disease will be dependent upon how strong each of the elements are. Sufficient wetting, ideal temperatures, and a spreading mechanism, and For instance, if the environmental temperatures are around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and there is rain, a susceptible cultivar, and previously infected plants nearby, the disease will not develop because the temperatures are too cool. If only one of the elements disappears, then the disease will cease to exist. All three of these must be present for Boxwood Blight to exist. The plant disease triangle is a visual tool that represents the 3 essential components of a plant disease, in this case Boxwood Blight. Blight can reside in stems of the plant or in debris on the ground in an inactive state for long periods of time and reappear when conditions become optimal again. When conducive conditions subside, the fungus will go dormant in the form of microsclerotia or black streaks in the limbs of affected plants or debris. When optimal conditions exist and the fungus is present, the disease can and will spread quickly. If the fungus is introduced in non-optimal conditions (extreme cold or heat, dry foliage), the disease struggles to become established. Optimal Conditions for Boxwood Blightīoxwood Blight is most prominent in times when foliage is continually wet for extended periods from constant irrigation, prolonged rain/dew, high humidity, with temperatures 60° to 77° F. It is typically introduced to a plant by contact with infected plants, debris, tools and equipment, clothing, animals, water splash, or other means of direct contact. The Boxwood Blight spore is characterized as heavy (non-buoyant) and sticky, meaning it does not move in the wind but moves physically through water or debris. Stems near infected leaves will develop black streaked lesions or cankers. Infected leaves fall off the plant in one to two weeks. In a few days of ideal weather conditions, those spots will develop yellow to brown rings around them and cover the leaf. ![]() It is unknown how the pathogen was introduced to the U.S., but likely traveled on infected plant material.īoxwood Blight first attacks the foliage of boxwood, appearing as black or dark brown spots on leaves, most often at the base of the plant. Boxwood Blight was found in Europe in the late 1990’s and officially documented in the United States in the fall of 2011. This disease only affects plants in the Buxaceae family which includes Buxus (boxwood), Sarcococca (sweetbox) and Pachysandra (spurge). Boxwood Blight is caused by the fungal pathogen Calonectria pseudonaviculata (syn.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |