When plum pox was discovered in Adams County peach trees in October 1999 -- the first time the disease had been found in North America -- the nation's stone-fruit growers watched anxiously to see how Pennsylvania would respond. Thanks to quick action by state and federal officials, Penn State researchers and extension educators, and local growers, the virus was contained and eventually eliminated.
Penn State researchers and extension specialists, officials and scientists from the Pennsylvania and U.S. departments of Agriculture, growers, legislators and citizens formed a rapid-response team to stop the spread of the virus.
As a result, growers cooperated with regulatory officials to identify infected trees and destroy them. To assist producers with their financial loss, Penn State agricultural economists worked to develop impact costs, resulting in special state and federal funding to help these orchardists stay in business. Later, Penn State research showed how aphids spread plum pox, which is an important component in eradicating the disease.
The response to the threat posed by plum pox was also heart-breaking for growers. A stone-fruit quarantine area affecting four counties was established. Orchards where plum pox was found were destroyed -- trees pulled out of the ground, bulldozed and burned. Hillsides that should have been pink with peach blossoms were now bare, partially obscured by the smoke from burning trees.
"Imagine how they felt watching the trees they tended for years being destroyed," said James Travis, professor of plant pathology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "There were orchard owners who would never have gone along with it unless the response team could reassure them that it was the right thing to do."
Read the rest of Travis’ account here.