Detection of Boxwood Blight, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum

Greetings All,

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).  The pathogen is known to occur in Europe: Belgium, Croatia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom; and Oceania: New Zealand.

 

Under the International Plant Protection Convention standards, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum is considered to be a pest that is present, only in some areas.

 

For additional information, you may contact Andrew Wilds, National Program Manager, at (301)

734-6633, or Leon Bunce, Eastern Regional Program Manager, at (919) 855-7360.

 

/s/ Paul R. Eggert for

 

Rebecca Bech

Deputy Administrator

Plant Protection and Quarantine