Impact of Foliar Application of Acibenzolar S-Methyl on Rose Rosette Disease and Rose Plant Quality

Rose rosette disease (RRD) caused by rose rosette emaravirus (RRV) is a major issue in the U.S. rose industry with no effective method for its management. This study evaluated the effect of foliar application of Acibenzolar S-methyl (ASM), a plant systemic acquired resistance inducer in reducing RRD disease severity on Rosa species cv. Radtkopink (Pink Double Knock Out®) under greenhouse condition, and the effect of ASM on plant growth under commercial nursery production conditions. ASM at 50 or 100 mg/L at weekly intervals significantly reduced RRD severity compared to the untreated control in two of the three greenhouse trials (P < 0.05). The plants in these trials were subsequently pruned and observed for symptoms, which further indicated that application of ASM at 50 or 100 mg/L lowered disease severity compared to the untreated control (P < 0.05) in these two trials. Plants treated with ASM at 50 or 100 mg/L had delayed incidence of RRD compared to the non-treated controls. Plants treated with ASM at 50 or 100 mg/L rate in all three trials either did not have RRV present or the virus was present in fewer leaf samples than untreated controls as indicated by RT-qPCR analysis. Overall, plants treated with ASM at 50 mg/L had 36-43% reduced RRD incidence compared to the water control. The treatment of two cultivars of rose, ‘Radtkopink’ and ‘Meijocos’ (Pink Drift®), with weekly foliar applications of ASM at three rates (0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 oz/A) indicated that ASM had no negative effect on flowering or plant growth at even the highest rate.

Evaluation of Rosa Species Accessions for Resistance to Eriophyid Mites1

Rose rosette disease, caused by rose rosette virus (RRV), is an epidemic affecting nearly every rose cultivar in the United States. The only hosts for Phyllocoptes fructiphilus, the eriophyid mite that vectors RRV, are Rosa species. Eighteen Rosa species were evaluated for mite resistance by collecting foliage samples from July to November in 2016 and 2017, from which mites were extracted. Mites were isolated through a series of sieves and counted using a stereomicroscope. The response variable was expressed as the number of mites per gram of optimal rose tissue. Mite data were evaluated to determine the peak week for mite populations for each year. The mite populations varied by rose species (α = 0.05) in 2016 but not 2017. Due to high variability in mite counts, the species were not as clearly distinguishable as expected. This high variability is likely due to factors such as differential growth rates of the roses, weather, presence of RRV in the rose, and the quality of the tissue collected throughout the season. Experimental design revisions are proposed for future studies looking at Rosa species resistance to eriophyid mite populations. Index words: rose rosette virus, rose rosette disease, Phyllocoptes fructiphilus Keifer, virus, vector. Species used in this study: Phyllocoptes fructiphilus (Keifer), Prairie Rose [Rosa arkansana (Porter), Forest Farm]; Carolina Rose [Rosa carolina (L.), Forest Farm]; Rosa clinophylla (Thory), Rogue Valley Rose; White Prairie Rose [Rosa foliolosa (Nutt.), Rogue Valley Rose]; White Prairie Rose [Rosa foliolosa (Nutt.) Antique Rose Emporium]; Father Hugo Rose [Rosa hugonis, Rogue Valley Rose]; Musk Rose [Rosa moschata (J. Herrm.), Antique Rose Emporium]; Multiflora Rose [Rosa multiflora (Thunb.)]; Shining Rose [Rosa nitida (Willd.), Rogue Valley Rose]; Shining Rose [Rosa nitida (Willd.), Antique Rose Emporium]; Nootka Rose [Rosa nutkana (C. Presl.), Rogue Valley Rose]; Tea Rose [Rosa odorata (Andrews), Foundation Plant Services, Davis, CA]; Swamp Rose [Rosa palustris (Marshall), Antique Rose Emporium]; Swamp Rose [Rosa palustris (Marshall), Ever Blooming Antique Rose Emporium]; Chestnut Rose [Rosa roxburghii (Tratt.), Antique Rose Emporium]; ‘Plena' Chestnut Rose [Rosa roxburghii (Tratt.), Rogue Valley Rose]; Rugosa Rose [Rosa rugosa (Thunb.), Bailey's Nursery]; ‘Alba' Rugosa Rose [Rosa rugosa (Thunb.), Bailey's Nursery]; Climbing Prairie Rose [Rosa setigera (Michx.), Antique Rose Emporium]; Rosa soulieana (Crép.), Ralph Moore; Virginia Rose [Rosa virginiana (Mill.), Forest Farm]; Porterfolia Memorial Rose [Rosa wichuraiana (Crép.), Antique Rose Emporium]; Mountain Woods' Rose [Rosa woodsii (Lindl.), Rogue Valley Rose].

Rose Rosette Disease: Recent Advances on Molecular Diagnostic Tools

Rose rosette emaravirus (RRV, genus Emaravirus), the causal agent of rose rosette disease, is the topmost pathogen of concern for the rose industry in the United States. The only strategy available for disease management is early identification and eradication of the infected plants. Highly reliable, specific, and sensitive detection assays are thus required to test and confirm the presence of RRV in suspected plant samples. RRV is only a recently characterized virus and hence limits the diagnostic tools available for its early detection. With a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) project sponsorship, several diagnostic tools including end-point reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RT-qPCR assays targeting single and multiple genes targets were developed for routine diagnostics. This review introduces an overall view of the different diagnostic tools developed, which are reliable, highly sensitive, and can be easily implemented for detection and identification in laboratories providing diagnostic services and confirmation of RRV-infected samples.

What is Rose Rosette Disease?

Rose rosette disease (RRD) is incited by a negative-sense RNA virus (genus Emaravirus), which is vectored by a wind-transported eriophyid mite (Phyllocoptes fructiphilus). Symptoms include witches broom/rosette-type growth, excessive prickles (thorns), discolored and distorted growth, and, unlike most other rose diseases, usually results in plant death. RRD is endemic to North America and was first described in Manitoba, Wyoming, and California in the 1940s. It has spread east with the aid of a naturalized rose species host and has become epidemic from the Great Plains to the East Coast of North America on garden roses in home and commercial landscapes where losses have been high. The disease was suggested to be incited by a virus from the beginning, but only recently has this been confirmed and the virus identified. The presence of the vector mite on roses has been associated with RRD since the first symptoms were described. However, more recently, the mite was demonstrated to be the vector of the disease and confirmed to transmit the virus itself. As a result of the RRD epidemic in North America and its effects on the national production and consumer markets for roses, a research team comprising five major universities (Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Delaware), a dozen growers and nurseries (all regions), six rose breeding programs (California, Wisconsin, Texas, and Pennsylvania), the major rose testing programs (Earth-Kind and AGRS), the major rose organization (American Rose Society), and the major trade organization AmericanHort has formed. This research project has been funded by the Specialty Crops Research Initiative through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the short-term objective of improving and disseminating best management practices (BMPs) and the long-term goal of identifying additional sources of resistance and developing the genetic tools to quickly transfer resistance into the elite commercial rose germplasm.

Combatting Rose Rosette Disease with Volunteer Involvement in the Monitoring Effort

Rose rosette disease (RRD) was first reported on the North American continent in the early 1940s. In 2011, the causal agent of this disease was identified and described—the Rose rosette virus (RRV). In the last 10 years, RRD has gained widespread notoriety because of disease symptoms appearing on many roses which are used frequently in landscape plantings, both commercial and residential. Much of the prior scientific work on this disease was carried out on the multiflora rose. Currently, the disease issues are on cultivated roses within which no cultivar has been confirmed to be resistant. There is an information gap in our knowledge of the pathogen, vector, and the disease on cultivated roses. Our goals for this project are to seek and identify potential disease tolerance or resistance in roses and increasing public awareness and knowledge of RRD with the purpose of reducing the disease spread with best management practices. Outreach and volunteer recruitment are key activities used to provide scientifically sound information, to establish the current disease range and to actively gather observational reports of RRD to identify resistant rose sources. Elements of these activities include educational meetings, factsheets, posters, and workshops where RRD symptoms recognition is emphasized. A web-based reporting tool was developed to capture observations from volunteers while continually keeping them engaged. It is hoped that through outreach and the collective monitoring effort, researchers will have access to information that contributes to a better understanding of RRD and will find disease-resistant roses that could be used in breeding programs for the continued enjoyment of roses.

First Report of Rose rosette virus Associated with Rose Rosette Disease in Rosa hybrida in Minnesota

A Rosa hybrida plant was identified with rose rosette disease symptoms and was positive for Rose rosette virus (RRV) by reverse transcription PCR. It is important to monitor routinely roses for RRV symptoms and to test and rogue symptomatic plants. This is the first report of RRV infecting roses in Minnesota.