An emerging fungal disease is spreading across the globe and affecting the blueberry industry.

Powdery mildew is an economically important disease caused by c. 1000 different fungal species. Erysiphe vaccinii is an emerging powdery mildew species that is impacting the blueberry industry.

First Report of Causing Black Shoot Rot of Raspberry in Nursery Production in the United States and Worldwide.

Commercial production of raspberry () transplants is almost exclusively accomplished through clonal propagation. One system involves forcing young shoots to grow from roots. The shoots are cut and rooted in propagation trays and referred to as tray plants.

The rhizosphere microbiome plays a role in the resistance to soil-borne pathogens and nutrient uptake of strawberry cultivars under field conditions.

Microbial-root associations are important to help plants cope with abiotic and biotic stressors. Managing these interactions offers an opportunity for improving the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production. By characterizing the bacterial and archaeal community (via 16S rRNA sequencing) associated with bulk and rhizosphere soil of sixteen strawberry cultivars in two controlled field studies, we explored the relationships between the soil microbiome and plant resistance to two soil-borne fungal pathogens (Verticillium dahliae and Macrophomina phaseolina).

sp. nov., a new species causing gummosis of black wattle in Brazil.

A new species was found associated with gummosis in black wattle plantations in the subtropical, humid, south of Brazil. The new species is formally named herein based on phylogenetic and morphological analyses. This is the fourth species found from this pathogen complex in black wattle plantations causing gummosis in Brazil.

Characterization of the Black Shank Pathogen, Phytophthora nicotianae, Across North Carolina Tobacco Production Areas.

Black shank disease of tobacco, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora nicotianae, is a major threat to production in the United States and tobacco-producing areas worldwide. In a statewide survey of North Carolina, the rapid shift from race 0 to race 1 was documented. Collected pathogen isolates were characterized phenotypically for mating type and mefenoxam sensitivity, and genotypically by comparing sequences from three cytoplasmic and two nuclear regions.