Plum pox virus situation in Murcia (Spain).

Spain is the main producing and exporting country of apricots in the European Union. The Murcia Region, with an apricot production of about 120,000 tonnes per year, stands for more than 60% of the Spanish production. Since its detection in 1984, sharka is the most important disease affecting apricot culture in Murcia. The regional government has developed an eradication program against this disease pulling up the infected trees. Since 1988 more than 100,000 trees have been pulled up with an economic expenditure of 114 million pesetas only for the indemnity paid to farmers. Waiting for the obtaining of new cultivars resistant to sharka the early detection and pulling up of the infected trees is the only solution to this problem.