Plum Pox Virus Decision Not An Easy One

Last week we told you the USDA declared the plum pox virus eradicated in the United States, which is great news for the stone fruit industry.  USDA Undersecretary Greg Ibach says the virus was first detected in 1999, and declaring it eradicated was not a hasty decision.

"We carried out a coordinated program that did everything from collecting samples, removing diseased trees, and suspect trees temporarily banning the planting of certain varieties that we knew were extra susceptible to PPD."

Ibach added the disease is spread by aphids.

This allows us to be able to protect more than one million acres of stone fruit across our country and stone fruit exports worth more than $5.4 billion each year.

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