What's Hot at the PPDL
December 15, 2017
Boxwood Blight on Holiday Greenery
Gail Ruhl, PPDL; Megan
Abraham, IDNR
DISEASE ALERT:
Boxwood Blight on Holiday Greenery
Wreaths with boxwood
blight are on the ‘naughty list’
The Indiana
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Division of Entomology and Plant
Pathology was recently notified by the North Carolina Plant Industry
Division of a potential
boxwood blight contaminated shipment of mixed evergreen Christmas
wreaths. Over five hundred wreaths were received on November 22nd by Boy Scout Troop 399 in Evansville Indiana and sold as part of an annual fundraising event.
A wreath
(Fig 1) with leaf spot and stem canker symptoms (Figs 2,3 ) of the fungal disease, boxwood blight, was collected
by the IDNR and sent to the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab (PPDL) for
testing. The boxwood blight fungal pathogen, Calonectria pseudonaviculata , was confirmed on symptomatic leaves and stems of boxwood sprigs intertwined
amidst the mixed conifer greenery.
Boxwood blight disease is highly contagious
and destructive to boxwood shrubs, (Fig4) an
extremely popular landscape plant. This disease is very
difficult to control and eradicate, once established in an area. Other
landscape plants in the boxwood family, including Pachysandra and Sarcococca
(sweetbox) are also susceptible. There
is no danger or risk to humans.
The IDNR has issued an alert (Click here for alert) asking all people who bought wreaths from Boy Scout Troop 399 to
immediately place the wreath in a plastic trash bag and return it to the
tree lot on West Franklin Street before Sunday, December 17 so
they can be destroyed.
The
DNR is also asking customers to leave their name, address and contact
number when wreaths are dropped off, particularly those individuals who did not
pre-order their wreaths. This information will allow the IDNR to follow up this
coming summer to check boxwoods in the landscape for symptoms.
There have been no confirmed Indiana finds of boxwood blight and
we are hopeful that this will be a contained incident and not spread to boxwood
in the landscape.
Links to the news coverage
this is generating are below.
http://www.courierpress.com/story/news/local/2017/12/12/infected-wreaths-sold-local-boy-scout-tree-lot/944910001/
http://www.14news.com/story/37049384/alert-contaminated-christmas-wreaths-sold-in-evansville