Susceptibility of Viburnum Species and Cultivars to Phytophthora ramorum

Abstract Phytophthora ramorum causes ramorum blight on Viburnum species, which are commonly grown as ornamentals. This study evaluated 24 different species or cultivars for susceptibility to P. ramorum. Whole plants were inoculated with an NA1 isolate of P. ramorum and placed in dew chambers at 20C (68F). After 5 days, the percentage of necrotic leaves for each plant and the percentage of necrotic area for each leaf were calculated. The percentage of necrotic leaves per plant ranged from 96.1% (V. tinus) to 7.9% (V. opulus ‘Notcutt’) and the percentage of necrotic leaf area ranged from 73.0% (V. × carlcephalum ‘Cayuga’) to 2.4% (V. trilobum ‘Wentworth’). In addition, six species or cultivars were evaluated for their susceptibility to a EU1 isolate of P. ramorum. The isolate had a significant effect on three of the six species or cultivars tested, although one isolate did not always yield the greatest necrosis. Evergreen species and cultivars had a higher percentage of necrotic leaves and higher percentage of necrotic leaf area than semi-evergreen or deciduous species and cultivars. All Viburnum species and cultivars showed some degree of susceptibility to P ramorum.