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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #390896
Research Project: Detection, Identification, and Characterization of New and Emerging Viral and Bacterial Diseases of Ornamental Plants

Location: Floral and Nursery Plants Research

Title: International trade and local control of disease in ornamental plants

Author
item Hammond, John
item Huang, Qi
item Jordan, Ramon
item MEEKES, ELLIS - Naktuinbouw
item FOX, ADRIAN - Fera Science Ltd
item VAZQUEZ-IGLESIAS, INES - Fera Science Ltd
item VAIRA, ANNA MARIA - Council For Research And Experimentation In Agriculture – Research Centre For Industrial Crops
item COPETTA, ANDREA - Crea-Research Centre For Vegetable And Ornamental Crops
item ARIMONDO, ORNELLA - Crea-Research Centre For Vegetable And Ornamental Crops
item DELMIGLIO, CATIA - Biosecurity New Zealand

Submitted to: Annual Review of Phytopathology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/2/2023
Publication Date: 5/10/2023
Citation: Hammond, J., Huang, Q., Jordan, R.L., Meekes, E.T., Fox, A., Vazquez-Iglesias, I., Vaira, A., Copetta, A., Arimondo, O., Delmiglio, C. 2023. International trade and local control of disease in ornamental plants. Annual Review of Phytopathology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-021621-114618.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-021621-114618

Interpretive Summary: Changes in the organization and structure of the ornamental plant industry over past decades have resulted in increased international trade of living plants and a significant increase in the number of genera and species traded. While this trade brings benefits to the producer and consumer, international movement of living plants also has risks of accidental introduction and possible establishment of new diseases, which may affect agronomic crops as well as other ornamentals. This collaborative review, by scientists from several countries which import and export ornamental plants, describes the factors leading to the changes in the ornamental plant industry, and some examples of viral and bacterial diseases that have been distributed through the international movement of ornamental plants. The review recommends increased collaboration and communications between scientists and producers from different countries to minimize the risks of future disease introductions through the movement of ornamental plants, to the benefit of all concerned.

Technical Abstract: Importation of ornamental plants and products provides many benefits, with some associated risks of the introduction of new diseases. Here we address mainly viruses, and some important bacterial diseases, affecting ornamentals. Both viruses and bacteria may remain relatively latent or difficult to detect in living plant material under suboptimal conditions, but can induce disease under environmental conditions conducive to enhanced replication. When bacteria are replicating rapidly, chemical control may be difficult. There are very limited options for chemical control of plant viruses, and the few available treatments are rarely cost-effective. The most effective controls for viruses are exclusion, and effective host plant resistance; however, few effective virus-resistance genes have been identified in ornamental plants. Effective detection methods are therefore essential to determine that plant stocks are free from viruses prior to large-scale propagation and distribution, especially for international distribution to regions or countries where the viruses are not currently present.