Identification of insect and disease associated to citrus in Northern Ethiopia

The survey was carried out in 2016 in the production of citrus fruits at Adiha and Sheka Tekli irrigation schemes of Kolla Tembien and Tanqua Abergelle districts, to assess the type of diseases, the causes and the characteristic symptoms of the diseases and to identify the types of insect pests that inflict serious damage. The laboratory analysis result depicted that bacteria and fungi caused most of the diseases of citrus at Adiha and Sheka Tekli irrigation schemes. Exceptionally cyst nematode and climbing weed were problems in production of citrus at the irrigation schemes. Diseases like citrus melanose, brown rot, root rot, blue mold, sooty mold, leaf spot and fruit spot were among the fungal diseases identified at the irrigation schemes. Moreover, citrus greening, and citrus canker were also some of the bacterial diseases of citrus at Adiha and Sheka Tekli irrigation schemes. Conversely, the type of insect pest that predominantly constrained the production of citrus in both areas were woolly whitefly, citrus mealybugs, orange dogs, cottony cushion scale insects, brown scale insect, citrus leafminer, citrus psyllid, fruit fly, adult flatid planthoppers, citrus aphid, red scale and root weevil respectively. Most of these insect pests belong to the Hemipteran order followed by lepidopteron insect group. Milk vine had also been observed as one of the weeds that pose serious problems to some of the citrus trees at Adiha and Sheka Tekli irrigation schemes. Therefore, further research intervention should focus on management of these insect and disease pests at Adiha and Sheka Tekli irrigation schemes.