Efficacy of bactericides against citrus greening disease through trunk injection, root feeding, and foliar spray: Impact on growth and yield of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) var. nucellar

Abstract

The present investigation entitled Efficacy of Bactericides Against Citrus Greening Disease Through Trunk Injection, Root Feeding, and Foliar Spray: Impact on Growth and Yield of Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) var. Nucellar was carried out at Sweet Orange Research Station, Badnapur, Tal- Badnapur, District- Jalna, Maharashtra, India during 2023-24. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various bactericides in controlling citrus greening disease, as well as to assess their impact on growth, yield, of sweet orange. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with thirteen treatment combinations, including different bactericides and application methods such as trunk injection, root feeding and foliar spray and was replicated three times. The treatments in the study are: T1: Foliar spraying of Streptomycin @ 250 ppm, T2: Foliar spraying of Bronopol @ 250 ppm, T3: Foliar spraying of Validamycin @ 250 ppm, T4: Foliar spraying of Copper Oxychloride @ 250 ppm, T5: Trunk injection of Streptomycin @ 250 ppm, T6: Trunk injection of Bronopol @ 250 ppm, T7: Trunk injection of Validamycin @ 250 ppm, T8: Trunk injection of Copper Oxychloride @ 250 ppm, T9: Root feeding of Streptomycin @ 250 ppm, T10: Root feeding of Bronopol @ 250 ppm, T11: Root feeding of Validamycin @ 250 ppm, T12: Root feeding of Copper Oxychloride @ 250 ppm, T13: Control (Untreated). Among all the treatments, T5 Trunk injection of Streptomycin @ 250 ppm recorded maximum increase in length of fruit (8.98 cm), diameter of fruit (7.65 cm), weight of fruit (294.25 gm), no. of seeds per fruit (19.35), average yield of fruits per tree (95.6 kg), marketable yield of fruits per tree (91.55 kg) In contrast, the control (T10) recorded the lowest values across growth and yield parameters.