Plum pox potyvirus found in New York and Michigan (US)
In July 2006, the presence of Plum pox potyvirus (PPV – EPPO A2 list) was confirmed in samples collected from New York State (county of Niagara, US). So far in North America, PPV was only known to occur in Pennsylvania (US) and Ontario (CA). PPV has been detected in 1 block of plum trees (Prunus domestica) in an orchard which had been surveyed annually since 2000 without any evidence of the virus. PPV was detected only in 2 trees out of 108 trees in the block. The infected orchard is located within 8 km of the eradication zones in Canada. As in Canada and Pennsylvania, only PPV-D strain was found.
In August 2006, PPV was also detected in a plum tree sample (P. domestica) from south-west Michigan. The sample was collected at the Southwest Michigan Research and Experiment Centre. The PPV strain identified was PPV-D. Surveys are currently being done on all 14,000 host trees at the Research Centre, and will be expanded to include host trees within 3 km of the Centre.
The situation of Plum pox potyvirus in USA can be described as follows: Present, first found in Pennsylvania (1999) and on a few trees in New York State and Michigan (2006), under eradication.
Sources
NAPPO Phytosanitary Alert System – Official Pest Reports
Plum pox virus Detected in Niagara County, New York (2006-08-31)
Plant Health Progress
USDA Laboratory Confirms Plum Pox Virus in New York (2006-08-29)
USDA Laboratory Confirms Plum Pox Virus in Michigan (2006-08-29)