Pacific Pests, Pathogens and Weeds

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Summary

• Worldwide distribution. On citrus. Two moulds are common, blue and green. Important diseases.
• They mostly occur in storage, with spores in the air infecting through wounds made during handling and by insects. Spread can also occur by fruit-to-fruit contact.
• Cultural control: do not pick fruit when wet, as damage is more likely; handle carefully; remove infected fruit immediately, before sporulation; refrigerate if fruit held in storage for some time; wrap individually if fruit-to-fruit spread likely during transport.
• Chemical control: use recommended fungicides against moulds; dip in thiabendazole at manufacturers’ dose rate for 30secs, within 24h of harvest.