Incidence of exocortis virus disease of citrus in Ghana
1972
Opoku, A.A., University of Ghana, Agricultural Research Station, P.O. Box 43, Kade, Ghana
Symptoms of exocortis, a virus disease not previously reported in Ghana, were observed on mature trees of sweet orange and grapefruit cultivars on Rangpur lime stocks. They consist of bark scaling of the Rangpur lime portions of the trunks coupled with root necrosis, twig die-back, and considerable stunting of the tree. Pictures, tree size measurements, and fruit yield records are presented to show the effects of the disease when infected cultivars are grown on the exocortis-susceptible Rangpur lime and on such tolerant rootstocks as Rough lemon and sweet orange. Nine exocortis-infected citrus cultivars, including a local cultivar inadvertently contaminated due to poor nursery practices, were identified. It is recommended that indiscriminate use of Rangpur lime as rootstock be avoided in Ghana until a citrus budwood certification programme and basic nursery phytosanitary practices are adopted.
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