Risk assessment of Plum pox virus in China

Abstract

Plum pox virus (PPV), a member of the genus Potyvirus in the family Potyviridae, is the causative agent of plum pox or sharka disease. PPV has caused reductions in yield and quality for the stone-fruit industry around the world. China is one of the largest producers of stone fruits, and accounts for a large percentages of the world market for peaches and nectarines (55.1%), plums and sloes (53.0%), apricots (1.3%), and cherries (1.6%). Currently, there has not been a systemic survey to assess the risk potential for a PPV outbreak in China. Therefore, we present an overview of the stone-fruit industry and aphid species in China. Within China, the areas under cultivation are primarily for peaches and nectarines (50.4%) and plums and sloes (66.1%), with a much smaller fraction of the cultivated area devoted to apricots (3.6%) and cherries (2.0%). PPV is transmitted by many different species of aphids, including Myzus persicae, Aphis craccivora and Aphis gossypii, which are distributed throughout China. Given the scale of the stone-fruit industry in China, PPV infection has the potential to cause major economic damage to the Chinese stone-fruit industry.