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 of stone fruit by causing acidity and deformities. The only way to manage the disease is to destroy all infected trees, which can cause significant economic losses.

Biology

The plum pox virus is a linear single stranded RNA virus. There are six strains of plum pox virus: PPV-D, PPV-M, PPV-EA, PPV-C, PPV-Rec (Recombinant), and PPV-W. PPV-M isolates are more aggressive in peach, are aphid vectored more efficiently, and spread more rapidly in an orchard. PPV-M has been reported to be seed transmitted, the other PPV strains are known not be transmitted through seeds. Both PPV strains M and D infest peach, plum, and apricot. PPV-C infects sweet and tart cherry naturally and is the only strain known to do so, it has infected other Prunus hosts experimentally.

Plum

A plum is a fruit of the subgenus Prunus of the genus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc.) in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds (not clustered), the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side and a smooth stone (or pit).

Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that gives them a glaucous appearance. This is an epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom". Dried plum fruits are called dried plums or prunes, although prunes are a distinct type of plum, and may have antedated the fruits now commonly known as plums.

Description

Plums are a diverse group of species. The commercially important plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned to 5–6 metres height. The tree is of medium hardiness. Without pruning, the trees can reach 12 metres in height and spread across 10 metres. They blossom in different months in different parts of the world; for example, in about January in Taiwan and early April in the United Kingdom.

Plum, Pennsylvania

Plum is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 27,126 at the 2010 census.

Plum is often referred to as "Plum Boro" or more correctly "Plum Borough" by locals to distinguish it from its previous status as a township. It was founded as Plum Township in 1788 and was reorganized as a borough in 1956. The borough took its name from nearby Plum Creek.

History

Allegheny County was formed on September 24, 1788. Allegheny County was originally made up of seven townships, and Plum was one of those original seven. Originally extending as far south as Versailles (modern-day North Versailles Township), east to the county line, west to Penn Township, and north to the Allegheny River, Plum Township was founded on December 18, 1788. Plum has shrunk slightly over the years, but still retains its status as one of the largest municipalities within Allegheny County.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 29.0 square miles (75 km²), of which 28.6 square miles (74 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²), or 1.34%, is water.

List of Ranma ½ characters

The Ranma ½ manga series features a cast of characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. The story revolves around the Japanese teenage boy Ranma Saotome who has trained in martial arts since early childhood. As a result of an accident during a training journey in China, he is cursed to become a girl when splashed with cold water, while hot water changes him back into a boy. Throughout the series Ranma seeks out a way to rid his curse, while his friends, enemies and many fiancées constantly hinder and interfere.

Many of the characters are similarly cursed to turn into animals or other creatures when splashed and are skilled in different and unusual types of martial arts. The large cast's intricate relationships with one another, unusual characteristics, and eccentric personalities drive most of the stories. Although the characters and their relationships are complicated, they rarely change once they are firmly introduced and settled into the series.

Saotome family

Ranma Saotome

Pox

A pox is a type of disease, often caused by an animal virus, characterised by pockmarks. The term may be used (in an archaic sense) to refer to disease.

Pox, as a disease, may refer to:

Pox (drink)

"Pox" is a liquor commonly used for ceremonial purposes among the Mayans of Mexico and Central America. "Pox" is a liquor made of corn, sugar cane and wheat, very important in mayan culture for its ceremonial uses and is also known as aguardiente. Besides its religious significance it is also a somewhat popular alcoholic drink in the Chiapas region of Southern Mexico. The word "pox" in Tzotzil means "medicine, cane liquor, cure." Pox was commonly used in religious ceremonies and festivals in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, but increasingly soda has been substituted for it.

External sources

Maffi, Luisa. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. June 1996, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 27–46

POX 186

POX 186 (LEDA 46982) is a dwarf galaxy that is still forming. The galaxy is considered very small and distorted compared to most older galaxies, such as our own Milky Way Galaxy. It is currently believed to have first begun forming when two enormous clouds of gas and stars crashed into each other less than 100 million years ago, sparking new stars to form. Some people believe this may be direct evidence of a new theory, speculating that later-forming galaxies in our universe are smaller than galaxies that have been around for billions of years. Pox 186 is near the star Spica in the constellation Virgo.

Sources