Plum pox Plum pox Plum pox, also known as sharka, is the most devastating viral disease of stone fruit from the genus "Prunus". The disease is caused by the plum pox virus (PPV), and the different strains may infect a variety of stone fruit species including peaches, apricots, plums, nectarine, almonds, and sweet and tart cherries. Wild and ornamental species of "Prunus" may also become infected by some strains of the virus. The virus is transmitted by aphids and by the transfer of infected plant material to new locations. Plum pox poses no danger to consumers, but it can ruin the marketability
Plum or prunes, although, in many countries, prunes are a distinct type of dried plum having a wrinkled appearance. Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundant cultivars are not found in the wild, only around human settlements: "Prunus domestica" has been traced to East European and Caucasian mountains, while "Prunus salicina" and "Prunus simonii" originated in Asia. Plum remains have been found in Neolithic age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs. The name plum derived from Old English plume or "plum, plum tree," which extended from Germanic language or