Study on The Efficacy of Chemical Control Integrated with Skirt Pruning in Control of Brown Rot Disease of Citrus Fruits

Brown rot disease of citrus fruits caused by Phytophthora citrophthora and Phytophthora parasitica is one of the most threats to citrus plantation in northern Iran. In evaluation of different methods to control of citrus brown rot, an experiment was achieved in Northern Iran based on Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in factorial test with five replications. In reciprocal effects study of fungicides (metalaxyl, cupper oxychloride and burdux mixture) and skirt pruning, a significant difference was observed among the treatments. The results showed that the best treatment was obtained from the application of cupper oxychloride skirt pruning in August. In reciprocal effects study pruning and fungicides application time, no significant differences were observed among treatments, however maximum and minimum percent of decay were depended on "no pruning spraying in September and pruning spraying in May" respectively. There were also differences among spraying time and fungicides application, as maximum and minimum percent of decay were related to application of metalaxyl and cupper oxychloride in September.