Risk assessment of Plum pox virus in China

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.