News
Looking for latest info on Rose Rosette Disease?

Aug. 2, 2016, Washington, D.C. — Responding to the industry’s growing
concerns about Rose Rosette Disease, the American Nursery and Landscape
Association (ANLA) has launched the website www.roserosettedisease.com.

Aug. 2, 2016, Washington, D.C. – Responding to the industry’s growing concerns about Rose Rosette Disease, the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) has launched the website www.roserosettedisease.com.

The website will act as a one-stop resource for growers, landscapers, extension agents and researchers to find the most up-to-date information about the disease, including how to identify and prevent it, and the collaborative steps underway between the industry and researchers to tackle the issue head on.

A visitor to the website will be able to view video content, factsheets, and the latest news and reports on Rose Rosette Disease.

IMPACTING A CROP WITH $200M IN ANNUAL SALES IN U.S. ALONE

“Rose Rosette Disease is an industry wide issue with the potential to negatively impact a crop representing more than $200 million in annual sales,” said Joe Bischoff, ANLA’s Director of Government Relations.

Tom Demaline, a member of the ANLA board of directors and owner of Willoway Nurseries in Ohio, stressed his concern, adding, “without real attention and coordinated effort to managing this disease we risk losing a cornerstone crop in a similar fashion to what has happened with Emerald Ash Borer and its impact on ash trees.”

THE VIRUS EVENTUALLY CAUSES DEATH OF INFECTED PLANTS

Rose Rosette Disease is a virus that is vectored by an eriophyid mite (Phyllocoptes fructiphylus) and frequently leads to the eventual death of infected plants.

Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) is particularly susceptible to Rose Rosette Disease and the plant’s decades long march, as an invasive species, across much of the Eastern U.S. has likely been the source of inoculum and responsible for spreading the disease.

The industry, along with university and federal scientists, is working to develop methods to control, suppress, and eradicate the effects of the pathogen.