Prevalence of Citrus Greening Disease and Its Integrated Management under Punjab Conditions

Citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most destructive disease limiting the quality of fruit production in India associated with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in Asia. The disease produces typical symptoms of leaf mottling, yellowing and green islands on leaves of citrus plants. During the surveillance (2019-2021), the disease was present in various citrus growing areas of Punjab viz., Hoshiarpur, Fazilka, Faridkot and Ludhiana with incidence varied from 7.99 percent to 16.60 percent in the districts of Faridkot and Hoshiarpur, respectively. The disease index (PDI) was highest in Ludhiana and lowest in Faridkot. Disease management generally depends on the early detection of symptoms and chemical control of insect vector. Ten treatments were selected which includes the different combinations of nutrients, antibiotics, growth regulator and insecticide. Among the different treatments, zinc sulphate + manganese sulphate + boric acid, tetracycline hydrochloride and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D sodium salt) was proved significantly superior to other treatments in reducing the percent disease index (13.99) and providing 59.29 percent disease control with significant increase in yield (54.87 kg/tree) as compared to control (38.32 kg/tree).