What’s New

April 2005

Ramorum Blight (Sudden Oak Death) and Connecticut

A potentially devasting, new disease caused by Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus-like organism, has been identified in the United States. To date, natural infections are limited to the West Coast, which includes several coastal counties in California and one county in Oregon. More recently, P. ramorum has also been detected in nurseries in California, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. National concern regarding this disease was heightened during 2004 when several shipments of plants from nurseries in California and Oregon were distributed to many states, including Connecticut, and were later determined to test positive for P. ramorum. The detection of P. ramorum in plants shipped to Connecticut and likely planted in our landscape raises many concerns and questions, for many of which, we have no science-based answers. However, we need to proceed with caution since we know very little about the biology and genetics of this pathogen.

Photos of rhododendron plants infected with P. ramorum that had been shipped to Connecticut. (Photos taken by Eric Chamberlain, USDA APHIS PPQ, Wallingford, CT.)

More detailed information Ramorum Blight can be found in the linked fact sheet. Link to the fact sheet Ramorum Blight (Sudden Oak Death) (Phytphthora ramorum).