You may be planning to tell your sweetheart that they are a real “peach” on Valentine, but be sure that it is not a peach infected with plum pox virus (PPV) (genus Potyvirus; family Potyviridae). PPV is a threat to many types of stone fruits. It produces not only the ringspot pattern that is seen here in infected fruit, it also reduces the carbohydrates in the fruit making it less sweet. PPV was found in the northeastern United States in 1999, and it has been the focus of a quarantine and eradication program to prevent its spread to other fruit production areas.
Photograph courtesy of J. Dunez, INRA, France from Plum Pox Potyvirus—Diseases of Stone Fruits (APS feature article-March, 2000).