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Submitted to: Arbor Friends
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 6/7/2016 Publication Date: 6/7/2016 Citation: Hammond, J., Jordan, R.L. 2016. Meet (and beat) ROSE ROSETTE. Arbor Friends. Summer 2016, pages 8-9. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Rose rosette disease (RRD) has emerged as a significant threat to the health and ultimate survival of many types of roses; infected plants may die within one or two years. RRD is caused by infection with the recently discovered Rose rosette virus (RRV), although RRD has been known since the 1940’s as a disease of wild multiflora roses. RRD was long thought to be confined to multiflora rose, which is a noxious weed in many states, and was considered a potential biocontrol for multiflora roses. However, more recently RRD has been found to affect cultivated roses, starting with landscape roses and then many other rose types - meaning that use of RRD for biocontrol may endanger cultivated roses, and the rose industry, which has a $400 million value in the U.S. Two scientists at the US National Arboretum are participants in a Specialty Crops Research Initiative grant to tackle the problem of RRD. They are developing reliable, fast serological tests for the detection and identification of the rose rosette virus by collaborating with other plant pathologists, entomologists, rose breeders, and extension personnel at five universities as well as the USDA. |
