Sara May*, The Pennsylvania State University – NEPDN, Swarnalatha Moparthi, North Carolina State University – SPDN, and Samantha Fieweger*, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection – NCPDN
*Members of the NPDN Protocol and Validation committee
The Communicator: Volume 6, Issue 5, May 2025
Contact Sara May (srm183@psu.edu), Swarnalatha Moparthi (smopart@ncsu.edu), and Samantha Fieweger (sam.fieweger@wisconsin.gov) for suggestions to include.
Denotes publications with one or more authors who are members of NPDN.
Pathogens
Colletotrichum species causing Glomerella leaf spot and apple bitter rot in the southeastern United States exhibit disparities in relative frequency, morphological phenotype, and quinone outside inhibitor sensitivity https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-24-1006-RE
Occurrence and management of the emerging pathogen Epicoccum sorghinum https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-24-0711-FE
Pyrenophora teres f. maculata, causal agent of spot form net blotch of barley, is an emerging pathogen of durum wheat https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-01-25-0002-R
Characterization of Tobacco ringspot virus and its nematode vector, Xiphinema rivesi, infecting highbush blueberry in Washington State https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-24-2236-RE
Known distribution of the soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, in the United States and Canada through 2023 https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-08-24-0080-RS
A community analysis of plant-parasitic nematodes on coastal Oregon golf course putting greens https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-25-0431-RE
Methods and protocols
Novel non-destructive detection methods for Bretziella fagacearum in northern red oak and chestnut https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-08-24-0253-R
Species-specific primers derived from comparative genomics for PCR detection of Verticillium species https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-24-2227-RE
Multiplex quantitative PCR for the detection of bacteria associated with huanglongbing ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus,’ ‘Ca. L. americanus,’ and 16Sr IX group phytoplasma https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-24-0970-RE
Field-deployable RPA/Cas12a diagnostic assay for on-site detection of Alternaria section Alternaria in sweet cherry https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.14071
Multiplexed real-time and digital PCR tools to differentiate clades of Plasmopara viticola causing downy mildew in grapes https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-25-0173-SR
Rapid detection of Xanthomonas fragariae in strawberry using species-specific primers based on comparative genomics https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-24-2299-RE
Development of a quantitative SYBR Green real-time PCR for Trichoderma afroharzianum, causal agent of ear rot of maize https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-24-2339-SR
Development of a recombinase polymerase amplification assay for rapid detection of the new root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus dakotaensis on soybean https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-24-1133-RE
Viral detection in Phalaenopsis orchids using high-throughput sequencing and one-step multiplex RT-PCR https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-24-2417-SC
sangerFlow, an automated bioinformatics pipeline to analyse sanger amplicon sequencing data for pest and pathogen diagnosis https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-09-24-0104-SC
Notable First Reports
Vegetables, herbs and table beet:
First report of watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus 1 (WCLaV-1) and (WCLaV-2) infecting Citrullus lanatus in Arizona, USA https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-24-2187-PDN
Tree fruit and small fruit: berries, nuts, stone and pome fruit
First report of Fusarium wilt of blackberry (Rubus subgenus Rubus) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. mori in Arkansas https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-25-0482-PDN
Field crops, cannabis, sugar beet, potato, sunflower:
First report of Pythium aphanidermatum causing crown and root rot in Cannabis sativa (L.) in Florida https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-25-0435-PDN
First report of Orthotospovirus iridimaculaflavi (Iris yellow spot virus) and Becurtovirus spinaciae (Spinach curly top Arizona virus) in sugarbeet in Idaho, United States https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-25-0105-PDN
First report of Bipolaris zeicola causing leaf spot on northern wild rice (Zizania palustris) in Minnesota https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-24-2252-PDN
First report of Verticillium dahliae race 3 causing Verticillium wilt of potato in Minnesota https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-25-0065-PDN
Peer review highlights (top five-ten)
Impact of Pseudomonas syringae on sweet cherry and plum trees in nurseries and in early-stage sweet cherry orchards https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-025-03042-z
A portable, nanopore-based genotyping platform for near real-time detection of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici lineages and fungicide sensitivity https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11428-w
Efficacy of integrated management strategies for Fusarium head blight control in hard red winter wheat https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-24-2350-RE
Trichoderma-enriched neem cake mitigates Fusarium wilt of chickpea (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-025-10323-3
Anthocyanin degradation drives heat-induced petal fading in Chrysanthemum morifolium at full bloom: a multi-omics analysis https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/950
Phytophthora inundata: A new root pathogen of citrus in Europe and the Mediterranean Region https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14091333
Antifungal and toxicological evaluation of natural compounds such as chitosan, citral, and hexanal against Colletotrichum asianum https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11050474
Innovative assessment of the fungicide sensitivity of the melon powdery mildew fungus, Podosphaera xanthii, on host leaves using electrostatic and digital microscopy techniques https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-025-01916-z
Extension
Fuchsia rust https://www.e-gro.org/pdf/2025-14-18.pdf
Generalist predators of the sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/asset-external/generalist-predators-of-the-sweet-potato-whitefly-bemisia-tabaci/
