WROC TV 8 recently reported on the plum pox virus and its implications for agriculture. MCC’s Bob King, Agriculture and Life Sciences Institute, was quoted.
From WROC TV 8:
No farm in Wayne County is going unchecked for Plum Pox virus.
"They take four leaves off every tree and tag our orchards,” said Gary Wells, the owner of Apple Shed farm.
Wells grows a hundred acres worth of fruit, fruits that have pits, which are susceptible to Plum Pox virus. And now that Plum Pox is definitely in the area, Wells is rattled because his fruit is his livelihood.
"It's all retail, and farm market, so it's our summer income basically after cherry and strawberry season,” Wells said.
But there is some good news. While Plum Pox is potentially devastating to farmers, it doesn't spread very easily.
"Plum Pox virus can be spread through an insect, but it's only spread in that insect for a matter of minutes. And that insect has to be in contact with that diseased tissue in order to be able to spread it within the tree or to another tree,” said Bob King, the director of MCC’s agriculture and life sciences program.
Everyone's on alert because once a fruit tree is infected, Plum Pox can't be stopped and it's hard to even figure out where in the tree it is. One little infection means a farmer loses an entire orchard, and can't plant there for three years. That's why Wells is hoping his trees are virus-free.
"My fingers crossed."