Cultivating awareness: How botanical gardens can foster public engagement with plant pathogens

Phytopathogens are a growing global threat to food security, economies, and ecosystems, yet public awareness and policy support often lag behind scientific innovations. Despite widespread pesticide use, 20-40% of global crop yields are lost to pests and diseases (FAO). Biotechnology and novel breeding strategies provide powerful tools to counter these threats, but their deployment hinges on public trust. Here, we review the societal risks posed by phytopathogens and cultural differences in public acceptance and regulatory frameworks. We discuss key challenges in plant science communication and the importance of trusted role-model communicators, including a concrete example where science-led storytelling and participatory engagement have accelerated adoption. We further propose that Botanical Gardens can act as scalable and adoptable platforms for plant health science communication to facilitate the translation into real-world applications.