title = abstract on Rose diseasesDisease ControlMulti-Purpose Fungicide Daconil 2787 Plant Disease ControlThis product is widely used for broad spectrum disease control on lawns, ornamentals and listedfruits and vegetables.
Controls many foliar diseases such as: rust, black spot, leaf spot, blights,anthracnose and powdery mildew as listed on the label. Also controls conifer diseases and lawndiseases such as brown patch, red thread, rust and dollar spot. Can be mixed with insecticides asspecified on the label to make a multi-purpose spray. WHAT IS POWDERY MILDEW?Powdery Mildew looks like white fuzzy powder that accumulates on leaves and stemspredominantly in spring, and again to a lesser degree in fall.
It is actually a fungus that is spread bymillions of microscopic spores. It imbeds itself into tender new growth and feeds on the sap of theplant. By the time the naked eye can see the white ‘powder,’ it has already invaded the plant tissueand is feeding and reproducing at a rapid pace. As it spreads itself on the surface, it eventually killsthe cells of the plant leaf, leaving the leaf rippled and curled. Mildew spores are everywhere in the garden – in the air, the soil, on debris and on plant surfaces -ready to sprout when the environment is just right.
Warm days (50-80F) and cool nights withelevated humidity and resultant dew provide ideal conditions. Though humidity promotes fungalgrowth, it grows on DRY plant surfaces, unlike blackspot which requires immersion in water forabout seven hours in order for infection to take place. Tender new growth needs a chance to ‘harden’ and develop its waxy coating that provides somewhatof a barrier to fungal growth. Therefore, the rosarian must provide protection for new spring growthon a weekly basis. CONTROLLING POWDERY MILDEWControlling mildew doesn’t have to mean spraying the planet into oblivion. It includes plant genetics,cultural practices and something as simple as WATER.
GENETICS: While rose hybridizers are chastised for breeding OUT fragrance, what they are tryingto accomplish is breeding IN disease resistance. For scientific reasons beyond explanation here, rosegenes don’t contain both features – it’s one or the other. Hence, you can expect either fragrant roseswith little disease resistance, or clean plants with little fragrance. Plants with glossy or waxy leavesare less susceptible to mildew, as the leaf surface is harder for spores to penetrate. Rugosas naturallypossess a high degree of disease and pest resistance. Where mildew is a constant problem, the choicein plantings can help prevent the need for extensive maintenance.
CULTURAL PRACTICE: Planting bushes with sufficient space between them and away from wallsand fences will provide good air circulation which reduces the chances for mildew. The annual pruning event plays a major role in disease prevention. Stripping leaves from the bush atpruning time, and cleaning up debris in the garden contribute to a cleaner environment. Dormantspraying will at least wipe out last year’s spores, leaving only this year’s to contend with. Keeping thecenters of the bush open during the growing season will aid air circulation.
Avoid the use of other plant materials with high mildew susceptibility, such as euonymus andtuberous begonias. Apply a thick layer of mulch in early spring to cover spores in the soil that mayhave wintered over. WATER is perhaps the most misconceived element surrounding powderymildew. Many gardeners still subscribe to the belief that you should NEVER get rose foliage wet. On the contrary, a high-pressure spray of water will remove mildew spores that haven’t imbeddedthemselves yet, and prevent them from germinating. Higher incidence of mildew during periods ofrain is caused by the moisture in the air and soil – increasing the humidity that promotes mildew -not by water on the leaves.
Similarly, watering early in the day will allow the soil surface to dry outa bit before the cool night temperatures arrive, reducing humidity from moist soil. PREVENTION IS THE ONLY CUREOnce powdery mildew is apparent to the eye, it can’t be eradicated. It simply must be prevented. Prevention is achieved by coating the plant tissue with something that provides a barrier to preventfungus from gaining a foothold and invading the plant tissue.
Growth is so rapid in spring that theleaves unfolding THIS week won’t be protected by what you sprayed LAST week. This is the reasonyou find application schedules of every 7-10 days on most fungicides, and the reason you mustfollow that schedule. The choice of what the SOMEthing is that you choose to spray is widening. Fungicides are the mostwidely used because they are chemically formulated to specifically combat fungus diseases. Recentreports of non- toxic, environmentally-friendly products such as baking soda and anti-transpirantsare proving very encouraging also.
FUNGICIDES are any of a number of chemicals labeled to combat powdery mildew, and do so byinterfering with its metabolic life process, rendering it unable to grow and spread. Although theymust be in place on the plant before the spores arrive, they do have systemic action – meaning theymove into the plant tissue – providing a residual effect for a short period. Fungicides are available in many forms – liquids (mix readily with water), emulsifiable concentrates(a thicker, usually milky substance), wettable powders (require thorough mixing prior toapplication). Each has its own properties, all are effective. Most, however, have a medium-to-highdegree of toxicity to humans. Extreme caution should be used to cover eyes, skin and hair, and use apainter’s mask or respirator during application.
They are mixed at various rates, usually 1tablespoon per gallon of water, and require application every 7-10 days. BAKING SODA: “New research shows that simple baking soda is a powerful weapon againstfungus-caused rose diseases”, wrote Kristi Clark in her September 1992 American Rose Magazinearticle. In a world that is becoming increasingly aware of environmental concerns, more attention is beingpaid to finding alternative measures to widespread chemical use. Sodium bicarbonate(grocery-variety baking soda) was tested originally to determine its effectiveness in preventingblackspot. During the experiments, it was noticed that no powdery mildew was found on any of thetest roses.
Controlled experiments were conducted for some three years, using sodium bicarbonate orpotassium bicarbonate in various combinations with insecticidal soap, Sunspray ultra-fine sprayoil, or only water. The result: both diseases were subdued by a weekly spraying of either sodium orpotassium bicarbonate at 3 teaspoons per gallon of water, combined with Sunspray at 2 tablespoonsper gallon of water. The bicarbonates eliminated the fungi, but addition of the Sunspray provided aspreader-sticker action that increased its performance. Sunspray is available commercially as Safer Sunspray. As Clark cautioned, do not attempt higherconcentrations of the solutions, as leaf burn may result. Rain or overhead watering may wash thesolution off, reducing its effect.
ANTI-TRANSPIRANTS are another group of substances that hold promise as a non-toxic methodof controlling powdery mildew (as well as pests). Anti-transpirants are emulsions and acrylicpolymers that were developed to form an impermeable film on plant surfaces to substantially reducemoisture loss. Several brands are available; look for a white liquid, about the consistancy of milk. They are widely used on cut Christmas trees to retard drying and needle drop, and on plants toprovide protection from drought, heat, wind and transplant shock.
Since the thin film preventstranspiration of moisture – both in and out of the leaf – it makes sense that it would also preventfungus spores from permeating the leaf surface. Some rosarians have used antitranspirants in combination with fungicides, and feel the combinationworks better than fungicide alone. Others have used it entirely alone, and find that it works very wellall by itself. Packaging directs us to water plants well and allow them time to take up the waterbefore spraying.
Since anti-transpirants are NOT yet labeled for disease protection, there is noaccepted formula for application. They come in various concentrations that would require more orless dilution – anywhere from 1 tablespoon to 1/2 cup per gallon of water. Again, frequency is notaddressed . . . once a week .
. . once a month? At this stage it’s sort of experimental. If a residue is lefton the foliage (objectionable to you as an exhibitor) then reduce the ratio.
Whether we choose the fungicide method or the non-toxic approach to controlling powdery mildewprobably depends upon the degree of severity we encounter on a regular basis. Regardless of theproduct selected, it must be used on a regular basis in the proper dilution to prevent fungal growthwithout damaging plant tissue. What is Blackspot?SymptomsBlackspot is a plant disease caused by a fungus (Diplocarpon rosae) that is generally damaging andusually a source of major problems. Blackspot looks like circular black spots with irregular edgeson the top side of the leaves. The tissue around the spots or the entire leaf may turn yellow and theinfected leaf may drop off. Plants with a severe case may lose all of their leaves if not treated.
Flowerproduction is often at a minimum and the quality of bloom suffers badly. BiologyHigh humidity is one factor that helps the spores to germinate. The spores germinate in 9-18 days ona moist leaf at 70-80F temperatures. The spores can be spread by splashing water and by theRosarians themselves. The spores are wind-borne only in water drops.
The spores can be spread onclothing, tools or even your hands, but the way it is spread most often is by infected leaves that havewintered over in the rose bed. ControlBlackspot can be satisfactorily controlled by spraying with a good fungicide every seven to ten days(read the label and follow the directions). There are also a number of measures that should be takento keep from getting and/or controlling the disease. Avoid watering in a way that splashes water upon the leaves and avoid watering late in the evening with a hose or sprayer. Make sure to clean upthe beds completely of all leaves or stems to help keep the disease from wintering over.
Always havegood ventilation through the plant and good soil drainage. Apply fungicides after a rain to keepdown spores. Put the plants on a spray schedule and spray with a fungicide that gives good control,such as, Manzate, Maneb, Daconil and Lime-Sulfur compounds. There are also organic methods of controlling Blackspot. Baking soda has been tried as a cure andas a preventative measure.
It was found that using baking soda and spray oil mixed with water as aspray can damage roses if it is not mixed in the proper proportions. It was also found that bakingsoda gave only moderate control of Blackspot, but appeared to be effective as a preventative. Thereis a new product coming on the market that has been used by our local Rose Society that does showpromise. This product is derived from the Neem tree. It is called “Rose Defense” by The Green LightCo. One other way to prevent Blackspot is to plant roses that are disease resistant.
There are some rosesthat have some resistance built into their genes. But remember, they are Resistant not Immune. Theystill need to be sprayed on a regular schedule. Roses should be kept on a regular spray schedule regardless of which method is used.
Remember,prevention is the key to controlling Blackspot. Rose Mosaic Virus Diseaseby Malcolm M. Manners, Lakeland, FLMany of you know that the primary reason we grow roses at Florida Southern College is ourinvolvement in indexing and heat-treating roses for rose mosaic disease. While we have had articlesabout the subject in numerous other publications, over the past decade, I’ve not mentioned thesubject in The Cherokee Rose, nor has there been any extensive discussion of the subject at any ofour meetings. Yet it is a subject I believe to be quite important, particularly in that a grower, throughignorance of the problem, could introduce a viral infection to an antique rose which may havesurvived hundreds of years without the disease.
A few simple precautions could have prevented theinfection. Also, some old rose nurseries are notorious for shipping virus-infected plants, while othershave made a great effort to provide virus-free bushes. I certainly commend (and recommend) thelatter group. The following is an updated version of a paper I presented to the Florida State Horticultural Society,in 1985:The Citrus Institute of Florida Southern College initiated a program to rid infected rose plants ofrose mosaic (RM) disease in 1984.
This paper will describe the disease, its effects on rose plants andtheir culture, and the heat therapy program at Florida Southern College. Rose mosaic is a disease caused by a virus complex infecting cultivated roses (Rosa spp. andhybrids). Cochran 3 reported that by 1970, most of the garden roses in the United States wereinfected.
Since then, heat therapy programs have been initiated at the Oregon State University andthe University of California at Davis, as well as by Bear Creek (parent company of Jackson ;Perkins Roses and Armstrong Roses). The Oregon State program is now nearly defunct. Somecommercial rose nurseries have made use of those programs and now offer virus-free plants for sale. However, many nurseries have not made any attempt to provide healthy plants, and a largepercentage of the roses grown and sold in Florida are infected.
Florida nurseries using Fortuniana asa rootstock are at a particular disadvantage, since scion-source plants of new cultivars are receivedfrom a single source, usually on Dr. Huey rootstock, from California. If these original plants areinfected, then all plants subsequently produced on Fortuniana rootstock will be infected. In recentyears virtually all new cultivars, including the All America Rose Selections (AARS) winners, havebeen infected with RM when received by the Florida nurserymen (personal communication fromseveral nurserymen.
Diagnosed by leaf symptoms. ) The disease also may be spread to other cultivarsthrough the use of infected rootstock. No source of indexed virus-free Fortuniana plants has beenavailable until recently, although some propagators have been quite conscientious about selectingtheir rootstock cuttings only from plants which have never shown symptoms of RM. Since RM is not fatal to the plant and often has no obvious detrimental effect on a rose, nurserymenand rosarians tend to be unconcerned about the problem. When leaf symptoms appear on a plant, theaffected branch is pruned off, temporarily ridding the plant of its symptoms. If (as many growersbelieve) the only effect of RM were an occasional chlorotic or disfigured leaf, there would be littlecause for concern about the disease.
However, RM has been shown to cause flower distortion2,3,4,8, reduced flower production 3,4,6,8,9, reduced flower size 8,9, reduced stem caliper at thegraft union 8,9, reduced vigor 2,3,7,8,9, early autumn leaf drop 8, lower bush survival rates 6,increased susceptibility to cold injury 6, and more difficult establishment after transplanting 8. Thesymptoms are highly variable among rose cultivars and are strongly influenced by weather andgrowing conditions. Infected plants may appear to be quite healthy for much of the year, and anysymptoms which do appear may be attributed to other causes, such as spray burn, nutrientdeficiencies, high temperature, or poor horticultural practices. It has been suggested that the”deterioration” which often occurs in rose cultivars several years after their introduction may be aresult of virus infection 1.
EtiologyRose mosaic is a complex of several viruses which cause similar symptoms in rose plants. The mostimportant of these in the United States is prunus necrotic ringspot virus, a common disease of stonefruit trees 5. Of lesser importance in the USA are apple mosaic virus and arabis mosaic virus. Theremay be additional viruses involved in the RM complex 6. Several other virus diseases of rose arequite distinct from RM and will not be considered in this paper.
These include rose wilt, rose leafcurl, rose streak, rose rosette, and rose spring dwarf. Means of TransmissionRM is believed to be non-contagious in the field, except possibly through rare natural root grafts. There is no evidence that it ever spreads naturally in the garden or nursery, or through pollen, seed,or seedlings 2. Extensive tests also have failed to transfer RM mechanically (e. g. , on pruning tools,grafting knives, etc.
) 3. The only known means for transmitting the disease is by vegetativepropagation. Cuttings rooted from infected plants, or budded plants produced from infected scions orrootstocks, will be infected in virtually every case. The disease is systemic, so the entire plant isinfected, whether or not all of the branches show symptoms. A plant which is infected at the time ofpropagation will remain infected throughout its life, and a healthy plant at the time of propagationshould remain healthy for its entire life, unless an infected scion is budded or grafted onto it. It is probable that the disease was transferred to roses originally from one of the stone fruits, bygraftage 4.
It then spread from one rose cultivar to another through infected rootstocks. Two nurserypractices contributed to the rapid spread of the disease in the United States: 1. Collecting scion wood for next year’s crop from this year’s budded plants in the production field,rather than from a separate, disease-free, scion-source garden 4. 2. Collecting rootstock cuttings fromsuckers on budded plants in the production field, rather than from a non-budded, disease-freerootstock planting. In Europe, where rootstock plants are usually produced from seed, RM remainsquite rare 3.
Leaf SymptomsLeaf symptoms of RM are highly variable, often making diagnosis difficult. Some rose cultivarsshow strong symptoms, while others may be nearly symptomless. Most cultivars will besymptomless for at least part of the year. The most severe symptoms usually are seen during coolweather, in the spring, and are much less severe during the summer months. Some leaves may show”vein-banding”, in which the veins are bright orange or yellow, on a green background. Other leavesmay show a bright yellow or white “oak leaf” or “mosaic” pattern .
A very faint “watermark”chlorosis is common on the leaves of some cultivars . These symptoms often fade as the leaf agesand may disappear completely. The chlorotic patterns associated with RM usually do not closelyresemble any mineral nutrient deficiency or herbicide toxicity pattern and are reasonably reliable fordiagnosing RM. The absence of any obvious symptoms is normal, and is no guarantee of freedomfrom RM; some infected cultivars seldom show symptoms, but their performance may be impaired. The Heat Therapy Program at Florida Southern College Florida Southern College’s heat therapyprogram was initiated with the following goals:1.
To produce rootstock plants adapted to rose culture in Florida that are known to be free of RM,particularly Fortuniana and Fun Jwan Lo . 2. To rid commonly grown scion cultivars (including oldgarden rose cultivars) of RM. 3.
To provide propagating material of rootstock and scion cultivars tonurseries interested in cooperating with the program, thus enabling Florida residents to purchasedisease-free plants on desirable rootstocks. 4. To maintain a RM-free garden for the preservation ofhealthy germplasm of the treated cultivars. The heat therapy procedures are similar to thoseemployed by the programs at the Oregon State University and the University of California at Davis. Infected scionwood is budded or grafted to Fortuniana rootstock and grown to a 2-gallon size plant.
The potted plant is placed in a controlled-environment chamber, where the temperature is held at aconstant 38 C (100 F) for 21-35 days. The heat treatment does not cure the plant, but RM-freematerial can be obtained as follows: Axillary buds from the treated plant are budded onto RM-freerootstocks. Most of the axillary buds on the heat-treated plant will be free of RM. Once the newbudlings are growing, they must be tested to insure freedom from RM, a process known as”indexing.
“We use three indexing methods:1. Mme. Butterfly — Buds from the plant to be tested are budded to established plants of virus-freeMme Butterfly an older Hybrid Tea which shows brilliant mosaic symptoms when first infected. This is usually done in the autumn.
The plant is allowed to grow a new flush of Mme. Butterflyleaves during the spring, and those leaves are observed for symptoms. 2. Shirofugen — Buds from theplant to be tested are budded to branches of Shirofugen a Japanese flowering cherry tree. Roses andcherries are not graft-compatible, so the graft always dies.
If the bud was not infected, the cherrybranch heals over, cleanly. But if the rose bud contained mosaic virus, the virus will be transferredto the cherry branch, which will react by producing a sticky, gummy oozing sap, and the areaaround the graft union will die. Cherry trees don’t grow well in Central Florida, so we contract withthe University of California to do this test for us. We ship them budwood to be tested, in June.
3. ELISA — Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay is a laboratory method, using rabbit antibodies. It is a quick (less than one day) laboratory test, and not only tells whether any virus is present, butcan often determine exactly which virus, and sometimes even which specific strain of a virus, ispresent. We contract with the Washington State University, to do this test, sending them leaf samplesin cool weather. The program at Florida Southern College is now nearly 10 years old. We have heat-treated and/orindexed hundreds of varieties, and now maintain more than 350 virus-free scion varieties, includingaround 200 old garden roses.
We also have virus-free rootstocks, including Fortuniana Fun Jwan Loand Dr. Huey. Mosaic-free plant material is available to commercial nurseries for propagation, andit is through our cooperating nurseries that mosaic-free plants are available to the public. Summary and ConclusionsRose mosaic disease currently infects a large percentage of the roses grown in Florida, andthroughout the United States. While hobbyist growers and most nurseries lack the facilities to ridplants of the disease, cultivars can be freed of RM by a simple heat treatment program.
FloridaSouthern College is engaged in such a program, and offers virus-free material to commercialnurseries, to the extent that time and facilities will permit. Since RM is believed never to spread bynatural means, there is no legitimate excuse for its continued existence in American rose nurseriesand gardens. While RM is not deadly or otherwise devastating to a rose bush, improved growth andmore flowers of higher quality may be expected from disease-free plants, so it is to a grower’sadvantage to seek out plants known to be free of the disease. 1.
You can’t cure it in your garden, but it is not going to spread from bush to bush. So there is nogreat need to dig up and destroy an infected bush. However, if you can find a virus-free plant of thesame variety, you might want to consider replacing the bush, to gain more vigor and greater flowerproduction. 2. If you do your own budding or grafting, remember that those procedures spread thedisease, so try to use virus-free scion wood and virus-free rootstocks.
If you root cuttings ofFortuniana that sprouted out from the base of a grafted bush, remember that those cuttings willcontain the virus if the original bush was infected. Also, any scions collected from an infected bushwill produce infected plants, when propagated. 3. Remember that a complete lack of symptoms (i.
e. ,a healthy looking bush) is the normal situation for an infected plant. Just because a plant appears tobe healthy, even for several years, is no guarantee that it is indeed virus-free. Only indexing can tellyou for sure. 4.
One of the major reasons so many nurseries are “cleaning up” their stock, in recentyears, is customer demand. Please support and commend nurseries that produce clean plants. Encourage nurseries who don’t, to begin growing virus-free roses. If they know it is important toyou, the customer, they will likely respond favorably. While I am not aware of any nursery which sells only virus-free plants, most of the nursery-membersof the CFHRS do grow at least some clean varieties, and will gladly tell you, if you ask, which oftheir stock is clean.
It will be quite a long time until all of the commercially propagated heritageroses can be cleaned up, but we’ve made a good start. Here’s a partial listing of older roses availablefrom our program, through retail nurseries:Insecticide chemicals have been linked to childhood immune disorders, nervous system problemsand hyperactivity. Chemicals commonly found in insecticides-like PCB’s and DDT- can causenegative estrogen-like effects in some women, contributing to breast, ovary and uterus cancer. Homepesticide users may use an average of up to six times more pesticide per acre than farmers. Insecticide use has increased ten-fold since 1940, but insect induced crop losses doubled to morethan 13 percent.
25-50 percent of air sprayed pesticide does not hit the field and drifts into theenvironment, contaminating soil, water, and air. Pesticide residues on fresh produce can be reducedby thorough washings with water, removing outer leaves, peeling and cooking. However, not allresidues can be removed, especially residue from pesticides that enter fruits and vegetables throughthe soil. Pesticide chemicals remain in the environment long after they are no longerused-DDT, chlordane and heptachlor can linger in the soil for more than 20 years. Consumingorganically grown foods and using alternative pesticide control methods can effectively decreasechemical contamination of humans, animals and the environment.
