New strain of hazelnut blight overcomes disease resistance in Oregon orchards

Eastern filbert blight, a fungal pathogen that kills hazelnut trees, first made its way to the Northwest in the 1960s. Since then, farmers have managed the fungus by pruning infected trees and spraying orchards with fungicide. But the most successful intervention has been a disease-resistant cultivar that’s been bred into newer hazelnut varieties.

A new strain of the blight has overcome that disease resistance, however. As reported in the Capital Press, the strain originated in an Oregon orchard and now threatens thousands of acres of newer trees in the state.

Ken Johnson is a professor in the department of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University. He joins us with more details on the new strain and what it could mean for Oregon’s $90 million hazelnut industry. 

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