Boxwood (Buxus L. spp., Buxaceae) are popular woody landscape shrubs grown for their diverse forms and broad-leaved evergreen foliage, with an estimated $141 million economic impact in the U.S. alone. Boxwood plants grown in temperate zones worldwide are threatened by a blight disease caused by the ascomycete fungi Calonectria pseudonaviculata and C. henricotiae. While the disease can be mitigated somewhat through cultural practices and fungicides, the most sustainable long-term solution is the development of disease-resistant boxwood cultivars.

This session delves into interspecific breeding and selection of boxwood towards resistance to Calonectria pseudonaviculata.

Learn from Belgian researcher Katrijn Van Laere, who will share the creation of new boxwood cultivars resistant to boxwood blight, based on interspecific hybridisation and an efficient selection bio-assay.