A new disease could sour Georgia’s sweet peach crop. Strict
preventive measures have kept it out of the state so far, but
experts say it could still sneak into small, backyard
orchards.



Plum pox virus can devastate entire peach orchards, said Phil
Brannen, an Extension Service plant pathologist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.



Infected trees produce unsweet, blemished fruit that can’t be
sold. And once a tree is infected, there is no cure.



To keep the disease from spreading when an infected tree is
identified, Brannen said, you have to destroy every tree within a
500-meter.



“If several trees were to be infected in an orchard, the total
production of that orchard could be wiped out,” he said.

The disease isn’t harmful to humans. But a disease like
plum pox
would be poison to Georgia’s $24 million annual peach crop.



Preventive Measures



A UGA CAES peach team of horticulturists, plant pathologists and
entomologists began an aggressive survey last year to keep the
disease out of Georgia orchards.



It’s not in the state’s commercial orchards now, Brannen said.
But the disease could find its way in through the small numbers
of trees people plant in their backyards.



“People buying peach trees for home or small orchards need to be
careful where they get the trees,” Brannen said. “They shouldn’t
bring in budwood from outside the state.”



Budwood cuttings are branches taken from a desirable tree
variety. The buds from these branches are grafted onto other
trees to produce seedlings.



In general, the tree material sold in Georgia is safe, he
said.



In peaches, an infected tree produces white ring spots on the
leaves and fruit. But it could take years before an infected tree
shows signs of the disease, he said.

Plum pox can be carried short distances by small insects
known as
aphids. But for long-distance travel, the disease needs human
intervention, Brannen said.



It Could Happen



Plum pox virus has caused disease in peaches and other stone
fruits, such as plums and nectarines, in Europe since 1915. But
it hadn’t been identified in the United States until the fall of
1999, Brannen said.



That year, the disease was confirmed in Pennsylvania orchards.
More than 1,000 acres of peaches and nectarines have been
destroyed in hopes of containing the virus there.



But the virus was recently found in Canada, where it has caused
extensive damage to the peach industry.



No one knows for sure how the disease made its way into the
United States. But more than likely, Brannen said, someone
brought tree material into the country.



“If we get it (plum pox), it’s going to be really hard to
control,” he said. “If we get to that point, we would have to
live with it. And the cost of production would be huge for
Georgia’s peach industry.”



Brannen said it would be hard for Georgia growers to
competitively produce peaches with plum pox. “We’re trying to
make sure we don’t have that same situation in Georgia,” he
said.



So far, the 2001 Georgia peach harvest is off to a good start.
The Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service reports that 93
percent of the peach crop is in good to excellent condition.



As of May 27, about 11 percent of the peaches were harvested.