Fighting plant pathogens together

![][1] A boxwood shrub shows the first signs of blight. PHOTO: JOHN GOLLOP/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Boxwood, a cornerstone species of American gardens, is currently threatened by a blight pathogen, Calonectria pseudonaviculata . The first blight epidemics in North America were seen in North Carolina and Connecticut in 2011 ([ 1 ][2]). The pathogen has since spread to 28 U.S. states ([ 2 ][3]) and several Canadian provinces ([ 3 ][4]). The disease also has severely affected boxwood gardens and forests in Europe and Asia ([ 3 ][4]). Efforts to contain the blight on boxwood must involve not only scientists, farmers, and retailers but also landscaping companies and home gardeners. As with any invasive pathogen, scientists must take every opportunity to engage laypeople who deal with these plants. The blight pathogen spreads long distances primarily through the transport of infected plant stocks ([ 4 ][5]) and locally by contaminated animals, gardening tools, and stormwater ([ 2 ][3]). Thus, awareness campaigns to prevent the purchase of infected plant stocks are critical to protecting existing boxwood in a given garden, neighborhood, and region. When the pathogen is inadvertently introduced, all infected plants and planting materials must be properly contained in a timely manner to prevent pathogen local spread ([ 2 ][3]). This fight can be won only through community efforts in which consumers and homeowners are empowered with the knowledge required to identify and contain the disease, farmers and retailers work to produce and sell blight-free plants, and landscapers practice strict sanitation between job sites. Boxwood blight containment can serve as a model of extensive stakeholder involvement in pursuing plant biosecurity. Science communities should work together with stakeholders, innovating disease mitigation technologies and developing a systems approach to saving the iconic landscape plant. A successful approach can be extended to other plants and crops. 1. [↵][6]1. K. L. Ivors et al ., Plant Dis. 96, 1070 (2012). [OpenUrl][7] 2. [↵][8]1. C. X. Hong , The Boxwood Bulletin, The Journal of the American Boxwood Society 58, 4 (2019). [OpenUrl][9] 3. [↵][10]1. N. LeBlanc, 2. C. Salgado-Salazar, 3. J. A. Crouch , Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 102, 4371 (2018). [OpenUrl][11] 4. [↵][12]1. T. Creswell , Purdue Landscape Rep. 18, 18 (2018). [OpenUrl][13] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #ref-4 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [7]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPlant%2BDis.%26rft.volume%253D96%26rft.spage%253D1070%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [8]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [9]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DThe%2BBoxwood%2BBulletin%252C%2BThe%2BJournal%2Bof%2Bthe%2BAmerican%2BBoxwood%2BSociety%26rft.volume%253D58%26rft.spage%253D4%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [10]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text" [11]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAppl.%2BMicrobiol.%2BBiotechnol.%26rft.volume%253D102%26rft.spage%253D4371%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [12]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text" [13]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPurdue%2BLandscape%2BRep.%26rft.volume%253D18%26rft.spage%253D18%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx