Plum pox virus

Editorial diagnosis

Diagnosis overview

Plum pox is a serious viral disease of plums, damsons, and related stone fruit. It cannot be cured.

In gardens, Plum pox virus can occur on plants including European Plum, Greengage, Damson plum. In the available profiles, it is linked mainly with Stone fruit.

Its importance depends on how quickly it spreads and whether seedlings, shoot tips, flowers, or fruit are affected. Conditions that favour it include Wet weather or prolonged leaf wetness, Dense planting and poor airflow, Susceptible cultivars. Any confirmed infection is serious because viruses cannot be cured.

Compare upper and lower leaf surfaces, the boundary between healthy and damaged tissue, and spread after wet weather. Coatings, spores, or progressive rot support a disease diagnosis.

A common mistake is to identify a disease from one spot alone; weather, spread, and pathogen structures also need to fit.