Estimating Yield and Economic Loss from Constriction Canker of Peach

Abstract

Constriction cankers, caused by Phomopsis amygdali, girdle and kill fruiting twigs which results in a direct crop loss. To quantitatively determine this loss from 1996 to 1998, the number of fruit lost per infected shoot was estimated as a function of disease incidence in 21 severely infected orchards in New Jersey. For each cultivar in 1997 and 1998, the distribution of fruit sizes at harvest and prices at shipping were used to calculate total crop value for typical expected yields. Economic loss was then calculated from yield loss and crop value estimates. The overall percent yield loss mean across all sites and cultivars, unadjusted for fruit remaining on infected shoots, was 22.2, 30.7, and 23.7% for 1996, 1997, and 1998, respectively. The frequency of these losses were not normally distributed, and the nonparametric Friedman test indicated that yield loss was significantly different among years. Assuming the remaining fruit on infected shoots were harvested, yield losses for 1997 and 1998 were 28.5 and 21.0%, which translated into average economic losses of $4,009 and 2,803/ha, respectively, for an expected yield level of 14,010 kg/ha. These loss values justify control measures for management of constriction canker in severely infected orchards.