Pennsylvania Ag Secretary Announces Second Positive Plum Pox Detection of 2005; Virus Found in Commercial Peach Orchard Outside Quarantine Area HARRISBURG, Pa., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff today announced the second detection of Plum Pox Virus for 2005. Plum Pox is a virus that severely decreases fruit production. Infected fruit may appear blemished and could drop prematurely from trees. It is harmless if consumed by humans or animals. "Our testing laboratory has confirmed the presence of Plum Pox Virus in a 38-acre block of commercial peaches," Wolff indicated. "The trees are in Menallen Township, Adams County, outside the quarantined area." Wolff added that the Department will follow its standard procedure of establishing a 500-meter radius buffer zone around the infected block and order the removal and destruction of all virus-susceptible stone fruit trees in the buffer zone. Three commercial growers have been impacted by this detection, and about 100 acres of stone fruit trees will have to be removed. Repeat and more intense sampling will be done on trees in the surrounding area. Based on these results, the Department will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish an additional area of quarantine. Once a tree becomes infected, it typically takes at least two to three years to detect the virus. USDA staff will begin to visit residential property owners and others in the buffer zone to inform them of the Department's policy. More than 75,000 samples have been tested as part of the Plum Pox Surveillance Program this season. Surveyors have visited all commercial stone fruit growers in the 10 townships affected by quarantine, and residential surveying is also ongoing. "While we are disappointed to find something positive outside the quarantine, the good news is that our surveillance program is working," said Wolff. "Over the last few years, we have seen a decline in Plum Pox positive numbers. The Department will continue to work to eradicate this virus from the state's stone fruit trees, and get our growers back to full production capacity." A ban on planting stone fruit trees is in place for homeowners in all areas under quarantine. Plant species included in the ban on planting are peach, nectarine, apricot, cherry and plum fruit trees, as well as many ornamental and flowering fruit trees and shrubs such as purpleleaf plum, sand cherry, flowering almond, and flowering and weeping cherry. The following townships/boroughs fall within the quarantine zone: -- Adams County - Huntington Township, Latimore Township, Borough of York Springs and portions of Menallen, Butler and Tyrone Townships. -- Cumberland County - Borough of Mount Holly Springs and South Middleton and Dickinson Townships. -- York County - Conewago, Franklin and Monaghan Townships. For more information on the Plum Pox Eradication Program, quarantine details and the history of the disease, call 717-772-5226 or visit http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/ (click on the 'Animal and Plant Health' link, then 'Plum Pox'). CONTACT: Michael Smith, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, +1-717-787-5085. DATASOURCE: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture CONTACT: Michael Smith, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, +1-717-787-5085 Web site: http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/ http://www.state.pa.us/

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