Development of Disease Management Options for Pseudocercospora Fruit and Leaf Spot in Teso Region of Uganda
John Adriko: National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL)
<div>Pseudocercospora is the most prevalent disease observed on citrus fields in Teso region, Eastern Uganda with average disease incidence reaching over 80% and mean disease severity scores of up to 3.5. Disease management experiments were set up for pseudocercospora fruit and leaf spot on 24 fields in Ngora and Soroti districts in the Teso region, with 12 experiments run from second season of 2016 (referred hereafter as 2016B) and the other 12 from the first season of 2017 (2017A). In 2016B, 6 treatments were used, including; Copper oxychloride combined with Mancozeb; Orius (Tebuconazole); Rodazim (Carbendazim); Alternation of fungicides (Tebuconazole and Carbendazim); Farmer practice and phyto-sanitation (removing of infected plant parts). In 2017A, an extra treatment included a no intervention control. Treatments were laid in a completely randomised design with farms used as replicates. The experimental plots contained nine plants (3 x 3). Carbendazim alternated with tebuconazole had the lowest pseudocercospora fruit and leaf spot disease progress (49.4%) followed by tebuconazole (49.7%) and carbendazim (50.2%). Farmer practice showed the highest level of disease (53.1%), while in 2017A, carbendazim had the lowest pseudocercospora fruit and leaf spot progress (40.7%), while the no intervention control had the highest (56.6%). Carbendazim, and Carbendazim alternated with tebuconazole are the most effective disease management options for reducing disease in citrus orchards in Teso reducing citrus disease by between 31 and 49%. In 2017A, where there was no intervention there was increase in disease of 24.2% instead of a decline.</p> <p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Pseudocercospora fruit and leaf spot, incidence, severity, management, disease reduction</div>
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