ISHS Acta Horticulturae 472: XVII International Symposium Virus and Virus-Like Diseases of Temperate Fruit Crops
IMPACT AND CONTROL OF PEACH MOSAIC IN NORTH AMERICA |
| Author: | H.J. Larsen |
| Keywords: | Prunus spp., USA, Mexico, orchard inspection, sanitation, quarantine, peach bud mite, Eriophyes insidiosus |
| Abstract:
Peach mosaic was initially discovered during 1931 in the western U.S.A. (Texas and Colorado). It ultimately also was found in the states of California, Utah, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Arkansas and later in nearby Mexico. The disease affects only Prunus species: P. persica (peach), P. persica var. nectarina (nectarine), P. dulcis (almond), P. armeniaca (apricot), P. besseyi, P. serrulata, and several species of plum. Peach and nectarine are the main economically impacted hosts, primarily because peach mosaic deforms the fruit and renders it unsalable. Rapid spread of the disease during 1932–35 prompted establishment of local and state control programs in 1935 followed by a federal control program in 1936. These control programs were based on detection, sanitation, and quarantine. Spread of peach mosaic to peach production regions in the U.S. East of the Mississippi River was prevented, but total combined tree losses in California and Colorado prior to 1955 exceeded 390,000. In Colorado, annual tree losses declined from more than 32,000 trees in 1935 to near zero by 1982; the last documented incidence in the state occurred in 1991. The current rarity of the disease reflects the success of the control programs. No such control program was implemented in Mexico, and symptomatic trees were commonly observed as recently as 1993. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
