Boxwood Blight Invades North America [Origin A Puzzle]

ScienceNews.org ^ | January 20th, 2012 | Susan Milius

[fight_truth_decay]

Devastating fungus has already stripped shrubbery in Europe and New Zealand.

Shrubs may be trembling by doorsteps across North America as an aggressive fungus disease of boxwood invades the continent.

Boxwood blight, caused by a Cylindrocladium fungus, was unknown to science before 2000 but has now spread through Europe and New Zealand. In October, U.S. authorities confirmed that the blight had jumped continents, with infections confirmed in North Carolina and Connecticut. By mid-January, with growers and pathologists on alert, the fungus had turned up in at least five more states — Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Oregon — and British Columbia.

The blight starts with spots on leaves and black streaks on twigs. Within a few weeks, a plump shrub can turn into a clump of bare sticks.

[fight_truth_decay]

Always some new threat to gardens and growers. Gardening was supposed to be relaxing.

Wild fruit enjoyed for hundreds of years now at risk:

Another already spreading threat found for growers of cherries, strawberries, mulberry, plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, Asian pears, currants, blackberries, loganberries, raspberries, marionberries, blueberries, grapes (both table and wine), kiwi (regular and hardy), persimmons, loquats, figs or any other soft-bodied fruits--[FLY]Spotted Wing drosophila (SWD) is a new pest in North America that has been imported from the far east. [[Daves Garden]

[dsrtsage]

This blight needs to get in line. A much more toxic blight invaded America 3 years and 2 days ago

[ApplegateRanch]

In addition to the boxwood blight, there's this.

Another already spreading threat found for growers of cherries, strawberries, mulberry, plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, Asian pears, currants, blackberries, loganberries, raspberries, marionberries, blueberries, grapes (both table and wine), kiwi (regular and hardy), persimmons, loquats, figs or any other soft-bodied fruits--[FLY]Spotted Wing drosophila (SWD) is a new pest in North America that has been imported from the far east. [[Daves Garden]

Garden List ping worthy?

[Puckster]

Game over.......the fungus is caused by AGW.....just wait for it.

I’m almost 60....and I remember blights and so on that rarely made the news....now everything is tramatic.....drama in the news.....precursor to 2012!!!!!!!!

[BIGLOOK]

Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Oregon — and British Columbia.

But not inland areas.....yet.

We've discovered that the source of a lot of unwanted pests have been delivered by private jets. Passengers and their baggage do not have to go through the rigorous inspections at either end and create problems. But they're the elites, politicians, movie and rock stars, athletes and worst of all, environmentalists.

[ME-262]

I’ll keep an eye on my two boxwoods. Fortunately our Kansas climate is so dry and inhospitable that most fungi really don’t prosper here.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

All of our boxwoods died this past year, but it’s far more likely because of the drought here in Texas.

[Vinnie]

There’s another pest making the rounds.
The Emerald Ash Borer.

My SiL’s neighborhood had ash trees lining the streets. Was beautiful.
The city came through a few months ago and cut them all down in an attempt to stop the beetle from spreading.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Ping to gardeners. Thanks to ApplegateRanch!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Many folks that you’ve painted with that broad brush are involved in general aviation, and are none of those categories.

[MissMagnolia]

Boxwood blight ..... ruh roh! My uncle used to raise boxwoods so we have quite a few.

[fight_truth_decay]

Environmentalists=Silent Spring's Rachel Carson. [60's) pesticides and pollution of the environment, plus DDT [the single most effective agent said ever developed for saving human life on types of wildlife]. JFK had a government funded scientific committee investigate Carson's pseudo-science, because of all the controversy over her book. The investigators validated Carson's claims and added more regulations on the use of pesticides, which cost taxpayers billions of dollars. However, I didnt realize til now; that the government never banned DDT in malaria spraying outside the US, but more about its agricultural use and/or limited use. Scientists found out later that the DDT resistance could last almost a decade. Mosquitos were said to have become immune to DDT in poor countries, and was why the spraying stopped.

Now environmentalists believe that it was never about not using DDT, when it was discussed about using or not using again, but about BIG BUSINESS in the manufacture of new pesticides.

I hope for a dry/hot period early summer "after the black flies" and lots of mosquito eating insects-hummers, etc. Some people just seem to attract the mosquitos more than others.

As I said gardening or landscaping is supposed to be a relaxing thing!! It's like you are trying to "outwit a bug", and losing.

The insects will inherit the earth?

[fight_truth_decay]

As do I...I need to find the right clipping tools to get them to be so formed as the Brits..any suggestions?

I have several/shapes and if one got ratty looking early on, moved it to the "assisted living" garden out back; except I don't assist; but let it do its thing, where most plantings seem to flourish again and then I don't want to dig them up.

[Eva]

This interesting because my mother worked in that campaign to get DDT banned. She collected signatures and did other work.

We lived in one of those neighborhoods where they used to spray once a week and all the kids would get on their bikes and ride behind the spray truck. Now, a lot of the people who grew up in that neighborhood seem to be dying of cancers, but I don’t think that most of the people that died were the ones riding behind the truck, but I can’t be sure.

Three died of brain tumors before they were 21, three breast cancers, one pancreatic and two I’m not sure about. ....and that’s just the ones that I know about. Does anyone know if that is an abnormal rate of cancer?

[left that other site]

Fungus Loves Florida.

I think it is our State Flower.

[Redleg Duke]

Sad news from here in southern New Hampshire. Shortly after I left for work this morning, my wife called to tell me the chicken/duck coop was fully engulfed in fire! By the time I got home, the fire department had it under control, but all 15 chickens and 5 ducks perished. The coop is a total loss.

We are stunned, but we will rebuilt and restore the flock, but we will never be able to replace the individuals.

Life goes on.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Oh my goodness, that is awful. I am so sad for your loss.

[rightly_dividing]

We have a boxwood blight, too; it's called Silverado. It pulls up boxwoods three at a time by the roots. :)

The previous owner's idea of landscaping was to encircle the house with boxwoods, and the mailbox, an Eastern Redbud tree, several utility poles, and oak trees. Our first order of business in our first spring(last year) was to clear out half of them and plant more attractive plants and flowers in their place.

[wardaddy]

somebeaches are hard enough to get growing good as it is...

biggest ones I ever saw were at Maple Hall outside Lexington VA about 8 years ago

I hear they trimmed them back about 50 percent

they were almost to the 3rd floor of the old home and were said to date back a very long time

[fight_truth_decay]

I am sorry to hear of your loss—you can replace, yes; but the horror of the fire and the loss of your feathered friends becomes a sad memory. They do have personalities don’t they? New ones will come and you will see like personalities to comment over. Wow, again..what a downer!