Mkulima today we cover some of the top factors to consider and boost earnings in avocado farming and achieve your goals. Several farmers are investing in avocado farming with the hope of earning an income to support their families and investment for the future.

Avocado scab

What is avocados scab you might ask?

Avocado scab scientifically known as Sphaceloma perseae is a widespread fungal disease that affects avocado plants.

Read more

KEPHIS on the export of immature avocados to the international market

How I built a profitable fruit farm with 7000 Kenya shillings as capital

Farmers earn big during covid as exports grow during the pandemic

The disease is nasty since it leads to serious losses as a result of fruit drop and poor quality as a result markings.

How to know

Leaf symptoms begin as small discrete lesions which are often concentrated along the midrib and main veins.

Though this is a common and easy way to check the lesions may coalesce into star-like patterns.

Shot holes may also develop.

As the disease progresses the plant leaves become distorted and stunted.

Lesions may also occur on

  • leaf petioles,
  • twigs and
  • Fruit pedicals.

Symptoms on fruit initially appear as corky, raised oval, or irregular-shaped brown to purplish-brown spots.

As the disease progresses, spots enlarge and coalesce to form large rough areas over the fruit surface.

Cracking of the surface may occur and allow for the entry or infection of secondary organisms to penetrate and rot the fruit.

Confusion and what to look out for

Avocados scab can be easily confused with physiological damage like the common fruit rub.

To make sure you have the right disease to deal with look for brown or purple lesions or rough cracked scabby areas on the fruit and distortion of leaves.

Spread

Sphaceloma perseae or avocado scab can be spread locally from one location to the other or from farm to farm.

This is possible as a result of natural factors like

  • wind,
  • rain and

The insects on your farm generally wound the fruit and can increase or facilitate entry of pathogens and make the avocado scab development worse and progress rapidly.

The long-distance spread is possible through the movement of fruit but most likely in infected propagation material.

Avocado sunblotch

Avocado sunblotch is an avocado disease caused by avocado sunblotch viroid commonly referred to as ASBVd. Some of the top factors to consider and boost earnings in avocado farming and achieve your goals.

Identification

Symptoms of avocado sunblotch include

  • discolored and depressed stem streaks,
  • grooves on old branches,
  • lesions and
  • discoloration of the fruit and
  • a variety of foliar symptoms

Some infected trees don’t display any symptoms making it hard to identify the disease.

Symptoms are influenced by

  • the host cultivator,
  • environment and
  • The strain of the viroid agent.

What to look out for

The most consistent initial symptom of avocado sunblotch infection is the appearance of narrow white, yellow or pink streaks on their surface of green twigs or young stems.

Fruit purchased from infected trees usually develop sunken white, yellow, or pink blotches or streaks and are usually small, deformed, and unmarketable leading to low prices at the market but cannot be sold at the global stage.

The burk on the tree trunk or large branches can have a rectangular cracked appearance.

Spread

The avocado sunblotch has no known insect vector and the principal means of transmission is in the seed used during propagation by use of rootstock, incision material used during grafting, and through root grafts.

Sunblotch avocado disease can be transmitted on sap contaminated pruning blades, harvesting clippers, and injection types of equipment.

It can be transmitted in pollen but only the developing fruit and not the fruit-bearing tree are infected.

Having an agribusiness question? Do you know of a successful agribusiness venture or story that you wish to share? I would like to hear from you. Send me the TIP(s) at mkulimatoday@gmail.com

Like and follow MkulimaTODAY on Facebook | twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Group share this article and leave comments or questions or WhatsApp me +254700761190 on what you would like me to answer in the next article.