Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Detection of Boxwood Blight, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum, in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Virginia
Detection of Boxwood Blight, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum, in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Virginia
Country: United States
Title: Detection of Boxwood Blight, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum, in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Virginia
Contact:
Andrew Wilds, National Program Manager, at (301) 734-6633, or Leon Bunce, Eastern Regional Program Manager, at (919) 855-7360
Report:
On October 26, 2011, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the first U.S. detection of a fungal pathogen, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum, in Surry County, North Carolina. Subsequent detections were confirmed in Middlesex County, Connecticut, and Carroll County, Virginia.
In response to these confirmations, APHIS is working closely with the affected state departments of agriculture to survey and delimit the areas for additional detections, as well as obtain trace back and trace forward information. APHIS also initiated a targeted detection survey to determine if this pathogen is present in other eastern states.
Boxwood blight can impact the appearance and aesthetic appeal of its host plant Buxaceae: Buxus colchica, B. microphylla (littleleaf boxwood), B. microphylla var. japonica (Japanese boxwood), B. sempervirens (common boxwood), B. sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’ (common boxwood, dwarf cultivar), B. sinica (Korean boxwood), and B. sinica var. insularis (Korean boxwood).
Under IPPC standards, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum is considered to be a pest that is present, only in some areas in the United States.
Posted Date: Dec. 7, 2011, 9 a.m.