Progress in Boxwood Blight Management in the UK & New Zealand: 1990s to 2021

In this seminar, Matthew will trace the progress of box blight and its management in the UK since it was first found in the mid-1990s. Early advice to gardeners was to remove all Buxus from gardens where the disease had been recorded. Since then, considerable progress has been made in keeping gardens free from box blight, but also to avoid the eradication of the host from gardens where it does appear. While it is still a difficult disease, there are increasing options for its management. The situation in the UK will be compared with that in New Zealand, where box blight has also been present since the 1990s.