Sep 9, 2009

Michigan’s Plum Pox Quarantine Ends

Nearly three years after Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) inspectors detected plum pox in Michigan, the quarantine that followed it has ended, according to Michigan State University Extension fruit educator Bill Shane.
MDA imposed the quarantine on May 16, 2007, prohibiting movement of susceptible stone fruit nursery stock out of, within and into a quarantined area of approximately 9 square miles in southwest Michigan. The quarantine also set up a 7.2-mile radius Nursery Stock Regulated Area around the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center, where one infected peach tree was found. No trees within that area could be used to propagate new trees.
After three years (2007-2009) of comprehensive surveying using USDA sampling protocols, no additional infected trees were found. On the basis of these tests, MDA director Donald Koivisto declared Michigan to be plum pox-free on Sept. 2, and rescinded the state quarantine.