Pennsylvania's first case of plum pox virus this season will not cause an expansion of the quarantine zone that already includes stone fruit orchards in Adams and York counties, according to a Department of Agriculture official.
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The single infected peach tree was found in Monaghan Township, York County, last week, said Nancy Richwine, survey coordinator for the state Agriculture Department.
The tree was in a three-acre commercial orchard that had not been infected previously. The tree has been removed, Richwine said.
The area in which the tree was discovered is already under quarantine for the virus, making a further expansion of the zone unnecessary, she said.
However, the department of agriculture established a 500-meter buffer zone around the infected tree, which includes 26 acres managed by two adjacent growers.
All stone fruit trees within that zone must be removed and destroyed to reduce the possibility of spreading the disease, said an agriculture department news release.
Growers inside the quarantined area are prohibited from planting any new fruit trees until the land is considered safe and free of the virus.
That could come in "sub-sets," Richwine said, meaning areas physically removed from the epicenter of the outbreak Quincy Township in Franklin County, Southampton Township in Cumberland County and Conewago Township in York County could be handled differently.
"Adams County is more difficult," she said, adding that quarantine area is contiguous and hasn't had any years since the initial outbreak in which it was free of the virus. "We would be looking at three years of negative data before we lift the quarantine."
John Rice, an owner of Rice Fruit Co. in Gardners, said even a small find is bad news for the industry.
"This area of the state is still very much dependent upon the peach industry to help make fruit growing profitable, so anything that delays the rebuilding of that industry is bad news for fruit growers," he said.
While he said it's frustrating that the virus has not been completely eradicated, he said he believes the state Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are "doing an outstanding job."
Rice said he believes the efforts will be successful.
First detected in 1999 in Adams County, the virus affects the appearance and yield of stone fruit peaches, plums, nectarines, almonds and cherries. Plum pox does not affect humans and is transmitted to plants by small insects known as aphids.
To stop the spread of the virus, the department of agriculture creates a 500-meter buffer zone around infected trees. All trees in the zone must be destroyed. Since the virus was detected, the department has ordered the destruction of 1,022 acres of fruit trees in the quarantine zone. The fruit growers are compensated for the lost trees.
Last year, less than 17 acres of commercial trees tested positive for the virus, said the news release.
While she was disappointed with the positive finding, Richwine said she wasn't surprised.
"We were not surprised to find one here and there," she said.
Richwine said her staff has been sampling stone fruit trees in the quarantined area since early May.
This year's discovery occurred at about the same time of the season as last year's first finding, she said.
The four-county quarantine area includes Huntington and Latimore townships, the Borough of York Springs, and portions of Menallen, Butler and Tyrone townships in Adams County; Conewago, Franklin, Monaghan and Washington townships in York County; the Borough of Mount Holly Springs and portions of South Middleton, Southampton and Dickinson townships in Cumberland County; and Quincy Township and the Borough of Mount Alto in Franklin County, according to the agriculture department.