By Scott Bauer – http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/sep01/k9602-1.htm, Public Domain, Link
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced there’s no more Plum Pox disease in the country. The disease impacts stone fruit like plums, almonds, and peaches. No other countries where the disease has occured have been able to eradicate it. And while it doesn’t kill infected trees outright, it does cause severe yield losses and greatly reduces the marketability of stone fruit.
The virus spreads over short distances by aphids and over long distances via the movement of infected nursery stock or by grafting infected buds onto healthy trees. According to a story from Stephanie Ho, while the virus may no longer be in the U.S., it does still exist just across the border.