It is not spread by mechanical means such as pruning. Peach yellows was a major factor in the decline of the peach industry in Delaware between 1890 and 1900. This disease is a quarantine issue in California , Washington State and Oregon . There is a similar disease in Europe . While fruit develop color early and are large, taste is bitter and quality is inferior.
Leaves also unfold earlier than normal.
Expression may be confined to one limb, on all limbs except one, or the whole tree. Infected buds may not become fully dormant, and consequently limb tissue may die. Black peach aphid was once thought to be the cause of the disease, because its geographical range is similar to that of the disease. Plum leafhopper has a singe generation annually. It is most common on plum, Prunus americana , and much more rarely on peach and a few other Prunus species.