We are on the hunt for honeysuckle leaf blight; can you help us find it? Honeysuckle leaf blight, caused by the fungal pathogen Insolibasidium deformans, is a disease that affects honeysuckle species, particularly invasive Asian bush honeysuckle like Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). We (researchers at the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University) are interested in the distribution and prevalence of the disease and the diversity, host range, and virulence of the pathogen.
We are reaching out to ask for your help in mapping where honeysuckle leaf blight can be found. All you need to do is go for a walk, find your nearest honeysuckle bush (which shouldn’t be far), and look for disease symptoms – distorted, yellow to brown dead patches on leaves. Then you can submit your observations on the iNaturalist app or website. To learn more and see photos, please visit our Scistarter page (https://scistarter.org/honeysuckle-leaf-blight-survey) and iNaturalist project page (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/honeysuckle-leaf-blight-survey). Here’s a video with more information on this project: https://youtu.be/QtOlFTc89Ls. Thank you for your help and happy hunting!
Madison Eaton and Ellen Crocker Forest Health Extension Lab University of Kentuckymadison.eaton@uky.edu
Record these hours at: FR:iNaturalist