Issue 2, May 5, 2020
Updated Boxwood Blight Best Management Plan Available
By now, we should all be familiar with the various recommendations developed by public health experts to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, influenza, and other diseases. Social distancing, wearing face covers, frequently washing-hands, and regularly cleaning/sanitizing surfaces are practices intended to limit the spread of human pathogens. Experts within green industry compile similar sets of practices with the goal of preventing the introduction, establishment, and spread of plant diseases and other pests. The agreed-upon practices are often referred to as best management practices, or BMPs.
Several groups have developed best management practices to help limit the establishment and spread of Boxwood Blight, a devastating fungal disease to susceptible types of boxwood. Experts revise and update the BMPs as new research becomes available and as conditions change. The Horticultural Research Institute recently revised their BMPs for boxwood production and introduced a set of BMPs for landscape management professionals. Topics within the BMPs include employee training, steps to avoid introducing the disease to a landscape, actions to avoid spreading the disease after it has been confirmed in a landscape, as well as cultural and chemical control recommendations. You can download a PDF of the Boxwood Blight Best Management Practices Guidelines for Production and Landscape Management via the following link: https://www.hriresearch.org/sites/default/files/BoxwoodBlight/HRIBoxwoodHealthBMPs-V3-2020.pdf
Severe defoliation of a boxwood plant infected with boxwood blight. Note that the defoliation is progressing from the bottom of the plant upwards
Virginia’s Cooperative Extension published several BMPs, each with recommendations tailored for individual boxwood growing situations. Their current BMP catalog includes:
- Practices for Boxwood Blight for Virginia Landscapes, Public Grounds and Historic Gardens
- Practices for Boxwood Blight in the Virginia Home Landscape
- Practices for Boxwood Blight in Virginia Production Nurseries WITHOUT Boxwood Blight
- Practices for Boxwood Blight in Virginia Production Nurseries WITH Boxwood Blight
- Practices for Retail Nurseries WITHOUT Boxwood Blight
- Practices for Retail Nurseries WITH Boxwood Blight
- Practices for Boxwood Blight for Boxwood Greenery Producers
The BMPs and other useful boxwood blight information, including information on effective boxwood blight sanitizers, can be accessed via the Boxwood Blight Task Force website:
https://ext.vt.edu/agriculture/commercial-horticulture/boxwood-blight.html
The University of Illinois Plant Clinic produced a boxwood blight detection factsheet following the disease’s first detection in Illinois. This factsheet contains information and pictures to help identifying possible boxwood blight infections as well as how to submit boxwood samples for testing.
Plant Clinic Fact Sheet: Boxwood Blight Detection: https://uofi.box.com/v/boxwoodblight
Boxwood blight is not considered to be established in Illinois. However, it remains a significant threat to Illinois landscapes. Take time to review the BMPs that fit your situation. Adjust your current practices where necessary to help avoid introducing and spreading boxwood blight.
Author:
Travis Cleveland