Boxwood Blight Gets New Research Focus in 2021

Posted by Brian Sparks|February 11, 2021

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a confederation of researchers a multi-year grant to help elucidate the mysteries of boxwood blight and its management.

The Boxwood Blight Insight Group (BBIG) has several key areas of focus over the next four years, including:

Conduct impact analysis to generate data that better resonate with state and federal policy makers, such as disease loss estimates and model economic analysis of best management practices.
Identify critical control points in nursery production to help pinpoint best sampling points and develop site-specific best management practices.
Assist landscape managers to better manage the disease by looking at potential biological control agents, agents that activate boxwood plant defenses, fungicide optimization, and mulch optimization.
Build boxwood resilience through identifying resistant cultivars, understanding the soil microbiome, and breeding efforts utilizing modern technologies.
Create a better understanding of boxwood blight infections (symptom and disease development and expression) in the Pacific Northwest through expanded nursery surveys.
Develop an extensive outreach network including materials such as a pictorial guide of symptoms under certain environmental conditions, videos to help scouting efforts, and materials to help train industry, research, and extension personnel.

“When boxwood blight hit the U.S., we were deeply concerned that this might be the end for Boxwood,” says Bennett Saunders, General Manager of Saunders Genetics and former President of the American Boxwood Society. “In Europe, there was very little research and there were very few answers. However, the research community in the U.S. was up to the challenge. They embraced the dire situation and began giving us answers very quickly.”

The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) has joined BBIG in its efforts as a collaborator on the outreach team. HRI’s role includes hosting the materials generated on its website, distributing newsletters, and working closely with the researchers on presentation of information. The new website is accessible through www.hriresearch.org and www.boxwoodhealth.org.

“Boxwood blight continues to threaten nursery production and landscapes, and much needs to be learned and understood,” says Ken McVicker, President of HRI. “We at HRI are excited for this announcement both for the discovery of critical information that will help us manage this disease and also for the opportunity to grow HRI’s outreach program. Working with BBIG is a wonderful opportunity for HRI to improve our efforts to connect research to industry.”