Epidemiology of boxwood blight in western North Carolina and Virginia and evaluation of the boxwood blight infection risk model.

ABSTRACT: Boxwood blight, caused by Calonectria pseudonaviculata, is a highly invasive emerging disease. Since the first US report in North Carolina and Connecticut in 2011, boxwood blight has spread to over 30 US states, risking more than 90% of boxwood production. Our study investigated the disease field epidemiology and evaluated the boxwood blight infection risk model's prediction by analysing weekly blight monitoring data collected on detector plants exposed to the prevailing environmental conditions at two different locations (western Virginia and North Carolina) from spring through fall of 2014 to 2017. Boxwood blight was recorded in 61 of 86 weeks, with the highest infected leaf counts recorded in late summer or early fall. Rainfall, high relative humidity outside rainy periods and optimal t

SUBMITTER: Khaliq I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11538381 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature