Peer Review Digest- May 2026

Sara Bratsch, Minnesota Department of Agriculture – NCPDN, Swarnalatha Moparthi and Ashley Philbrick, North Carolina State University – SPDN

Contact authors for suggestions to include
The Communicator: Volume 7, Issue 4, May 2026

Denotes publications with one or more authors who are members of NPDN.

Diagnostic guides

A diagnostic guide for Caliciopsis canker disease on North American conifers

Pathogens

Bacteria:

Survivability of Pantoea stewartii subsp. indologenes in crop residue and its transmission risk to onions in the Poaceae–allium cropping system

Fungi/Oomycete: 

Phytophthora: Timeline of taxonomy and identification from plant pathology’s origin to molecular technologies

Pseudocercospora oenotherae causing leaf spot on ornamental Lantana strigocamara: characterization and host resistance

Georgia blueberry Neopestalotiopsis isolates, which are phylogenetically indistinguishable from the emerging novel strawberry Neopestalotiopsis sp., are pathogenic to both blueberry and strawberry

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phalaenopsidis, a novel forma specialis causing leaf yellowing of orchids

Virus and Phytoplasma: 

Incidence of grapevine (Vitis vinifera cultivars) infecting viruses in winegrowing regions of North Carolina

Relative occurrence and seasonal variations of wheat-infecting viruses in Texas

Beet curly top virus genetic diversity, impact on cannabinoids, potential seed transmission, and vector biology in hemp

Advances in detection and relative quantification of the cranberry false blossom disease–associated phytoplasma

Methods and protocols

A Rapid and accurate PCR-based method for mating-type determination in the heterothallic oomycete Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew

A Quantitative PCR–based assay for the species-specific detection of Caliciopsis pinea, causal agent of Caliciopsis canker disease of Pinus strobus 

Detection and quantification of potato spindle tuber viroid in wild and cultivated potatoes using a new validated RT-qPCR method

Molecular detection tools for blueberry mosaic associated virus and blueberry shoestring virus

Notable First Reports  

Vegetable crops: 

First field report of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) naturally infecting rapeseed (Brassica napus) in China

Woody ornamentals:

First report of Grovesinia moricola causing zonate leaf spot on Betula nigra (river birch) in Virginia 

New records of willow rust caused by Melampsora laricis-epitea in Alaska, U.S.A., and on Salix atrocinerea in Spain 

Cannabis:

First report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ and Spiroplasma citri in Cannabis sativa in Washington State, U.S.A.

Peer review highlights

Applying a systems approach to validation and proficiency testing in plant virology to meet ISO 17025 accreditation requirements

Resistance in Capsicum species and cultivars to Colletotrichum scovillei and implications for fungicide applications

Evolutionary relationships and a tree-based alignment selector interactive phylogeny of the emerging lineages of the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum

Extension (e-gro and others)  

INSV on Peperomia