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  4. Plum Pox

Plum Pox

Scientific Name

Plum pox virus (Wylie et al. 2017)

Common Name

Plum pox, PPV, Sharka disease

Native To

First appeared in Bulgaria (Douglas 2012)

Date of U.S. Introduction

First discovered in 1999 (Douglas 2012)

Means of Introduction

Probably with infected nursery stock (Douglas 2012)

Impact

Disease of stone fruit species (such as peaches and plums) (Douglas 2012)

Plum pox - Invasive.org

Fruit symptoms of plum pox potyvirus infection on apricot. Biologische Bundesanstalt Archives, Germany

Source
Invasive.org.

Find more images

Spotlights

  • ARS Unveils New Disease Resistant Honeysweet Plum

    • Apr 4, 2022

    • USDA. ARS. Tellus.

    • Meet the Honeysweet Plum: A virus-resistant plum that ARS hopes to bring to market soon. They are large and oblong with a very sweet, flavorful taste. ARS created the Honeysweet variety using RNAi, a biotechnology method that makes them immune to the plum pox virus. Plum pox infects stone fruit trees: plums, peaches, apricots and cherries. Once infected, the fruit discolors and falls from the tree prior to maturation. There is no natural, genetic resistance to the virus.

  • Eradicating the Plum Pox Virus

    • Mar 23, 2020

    • USDA. ARS. Tellus.

    • The 20-year fight against plum pox – a serious agricultural disease capable of devastating stone fruits like peaches, apricots, cherries, and almonds – is finally over, thanks to a cooperative effort by the Agricultural Research Service and their partners.

  • USDA Declares United States Free from Plum Pox Virus

    • Oct 17, 2019

    • United States Department of Agriculture.

    • At a ceremony today, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach declared the United States free of plum pox virus. Under Secretary Ibach signed a proclamation marking this historic announcement. "Today, our 20-year fight against plum pox disease is officially over,” Under Secretary Ibach said. “Working with our partners, we’ve eliminated this disease and protected the United States’ $6.3 billion stone fruit industry." Plum pox is a serious disease impacting stone fruit such as plums, almonds, and peaches. No other countries where plum pox disease is known to occur have successfully eradicated the disease. The disease was first detected in Pennsylvania in 1999.

  • HoneySweet Plum Trees: A Transgenic Answer to the Plum Pox Problem - Frequently Asked Questions

    • USDA. Agricultural Research Service.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Federally Regulated

Videos

  • YouTube - Plum Pox Virus in Pennsylvania

    • Google. YouTube; Penn State Extension.

    • This video was produced by Penn State Extension in 2000 and recounts the partnership that developed between Penn State, USDA, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and other scientists from around the world to battle the emergence of Plum Pox in Pennsylvania.

All Resources

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations