QUANTIFYING THE SPATIAL DYNAMICS AND SEVERITY OF CITRUS GUMMOSIS DISEASE IN SARGODHA

Abstract

Citrus is the most valuable fruit worldwide because of its flavor, dietary and therapeutic features. Every citrus growing area face a menace of citrus gummosis disease caused by a fugal like organism i.e. Phytophthora citrophthora. Gummosis ranks among the main diseases that are responsible for the destruction of citrus orchards. The diseased plants exhibit decline symptoms along with chlorosis, twig die-back, discolored fruits and wilted leaf tips. The experiment was aimed to map out the spatial distribution of citrus gummosis disease in Sargodha region (Pakistan). The survey was carried out in 3 Tehsils of District Sargodha where 3 orchards were marked. The symptomatic samples were collected from the selected trees and pathogenicity tests was performed in-vitro for the confirmation of pathogen. In all orchards, 15 trees were chosen for the assessment of citrus gummosis disease severity by using a disease rating scale. In Sargodha, the mean disease severity was 44.71%, followed by Bhalwal (36.29%) and Kotmomin Tehsil (31.55%). This study is supposed to facilitate growers for the identification and prediction of gummosis outbreak so that appropriate management options may be opted.