Evaluation of Fungicide for the Management of Leaf and Fruit Spot (Phaeoramularia angolensis) of Sweet Orange in West &amp; Kellem Wollaga Zones

Abay Guta

doi:10.7176/jbah/9-5-01

Abstract

Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) is an important fruit crop in the daily diet, good source of food nutrients, cash to the farmers. The leaf and fruit spot disease caused by Phaeoramularia angolensis is one of the most devastating airborne diseases and also the main constraints contributing to the low productivity of citrus plantation in 20 African countries including Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted to evaluate three fungicide (Unizeb 80% WP, Trust-cymocop 439.5 WP, and Benomyl 500 WP) and combination of the two each fungicide under field conditions for the management of leaf and fruit spot disease and also to assess the yield losses. Not significant different in disease incidence between treatments and there was a significant difference in the leaf and fruit spot disease severity and Area under Disease Progressive Curve (AUDPC) among treatments. On the final date of disease assessment, among the fungicide, Unizeb sprayed was recorded the lowest disease severity (17.33%) and (18.17%), whereas the highest disease severity of (46.67%) and (45.83 %) were recorded on leaf and fruit spot on control plots, respectively. The highest fruit yield of 6.14 and 5.94 t/ha were also recorded from plots sprayed with Unizeb 80% WP and Benomyl 500 WP fungicide. Unizeb 80% WP fungicide applied exhibited maximum partial cost net benefit from all plots that means the highest (123970.00 ETB ha -1 ) was recorded and followed by Benomyl 500 WP (111520.00 ETB ha -1 ) fungicide treated plots. The results of the present study revealed that the novel possibility of using Unizeb foliar spray with four times which was found to be an effective in decreasing leaf and fruit spot disease symptoms on sweet orange in Kellem Wollega, Western Oromiya and increased yield. Keywords: Sweet Orange, Leaf and Fruit spot disease, Fungicides, Yield and Cost benefit. DOI : 10.7176/JBAH/9-5-01 Publication date :March 31 st 2019

Highlights

The sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) is a member of the citrus family (Rutaceae), along with other fruits such as mandarins, lemons, grapefruits and limes
Disease incidence Phaeoramularia leaf and fruit spot disease of sweet orange was first observed at on experimental field at the beginning of august in both years (2016 and 2017) and it was recorded on the leaf of sweet orange all treatments
LSD= Least significant difference, CV= Coefficient of variations, The Percentage Severity index (PSI) data revealed that the severity of Phaeoramularia fruit spot on the control plot was higher than the treated plots (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) is a member of the citrus family (Rutaceae), along with other fruits such as mandarins, lemons, grapefruits and limes. Even though citrus is a genius that contains many important species, sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) is the most important of all citrus fruits in the world (Taylor, 2008). The leading producer of sweet oranges is Brazil followed by the European Union and China. In 2014, Brazil produced 17 340 MT followed by China [7 600 MT], United States [6 291 MT], and European Union [6 075 MT]. In 2013 orange was one of the important fruits in Ethiopia with a total area coverage and total production of 3,000 ha and 36,000 tons respectively (FAO, 2015)

Methods

Results

Conclusion