Chuanxue Hong (he/him/his)
Professor
Virginia Tech
Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Margery Daughtrey
Sr Extension Associate
Cornell University
Riverhead, New York, United States
Doug Luster
Research Plant Physiologist
USDA-ARS-NEA, Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit
Fort Detrick, Maryland, United States
Jill Calabro
Valent USA
San Ramon, California, United States
Jennifer Gray
Program Director
AmericanHort and Horticultural Research Institute
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Charles Hall
Professor
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, United States
Jerry Weiland
USDA-ARS
Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Fulya Baysal-Gurel, n/a
Associate Professor
Tennessee State University, Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center, Department of Agriculture Sciences and Engineering
McMinnville, TN, USA
Fred Gouker
USDA ARS National Arboretum
Geneva, New York, United States
Ping Kong
Virginia Tech
Virginia BEach, Virginia, United States
Jo Anne Crouch
USDA ARS Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit
Ft Detrick, Maryland, United States
James LaMondia
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Windsor, Connecticut, United States
Jay Pscheidt
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Luisa Santamaria
Oregon State University
Aurora, Oregon, United States
Nina Shishkoff
USDA ARS Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit
Ft Detrick, Maryland, United States
Karen Snover-Clift
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York, United States
Nathaniel Westrick
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Windsor, Connecticut, United States
Lara Brindisi
USDA ARS National Arboretum
Beltsville, Maryland, United States
Boxwood blight caused by Calonectria pseudonaviculata is a destructive disease affecting everyone on the horticultural chain from grower to consumer. To effectively fight against this emerging disease, scientists from twelve U.S. labs teamed up with stakeholders and collaborators here and overseas in 2020 to establish an international consortium – the Boxwood Blight Insight Group (BBIG). To date, this team has published 61 refereed journal articles, organized five international, three national and one regional conferences; gave 23 invited lectures and presentations, plus 60 other presentations at scientific meetings. Its major educational products included two impactful seminar series, two On-Demand sessions in 2021 and 2022 with additional presentations in past 2 years at Cultivate (the nation’s largest annual green industry educational event hosted by AmericanHort), 123 presentations, 13 workshops, 15 trade journal articles, a project website; quarterly BBIG Newsletters and monthly digests, plus nearly 200 outreach email communications to the 400-member BBIG community, with the latest research and innovations. Additionally, the team partnered with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Plant Diagnostic Network, National Plant Board, American Public Gardens Association, American Boxwood Society, etc. These activities have fast-tracked the nation onto a more sustainable path toward healthy boxwood production and plantings and earned the BBIG team the recognition with the 2022 USDA NIFA Partnership – Program Improvement through Global Engagement Award.