Epidemiology of Mango Malformation in Guerrero, México, with Traditional and Integrated Management

Abstract

The temporal progress of malformation (MM) of mango (Mangifera indica) was studied from 1993 to 1995 with three management technologies applied to commercial plantations in North Guerrero, Mexico. Management influenced shoot production and thus determined the dynamics of epidemics. Environmental factors also affected disease incidence, particularly through an apparent effect on inoculum dispersal. In general, integrated management (IM), consisting of pruning, acaricide, and fungicide sprays, resulted in slower rates of epidemic development, lower levels of initial and final disease, and lesser areas under the disease progress curves. In the first cycle, IM increased yield per tree by 51% in relation to high technology (HT) and 74% in relation to lower traditional technology (LT), representing a benefit-cost rate of 2.8 and 3.3, respectively. Change of malformation incidence was correlated positively with the number of macroconidia of Fusarium sp. trapped in the canopy (r = 0.90, P = 0.0001) and wind speed (r = 0.83, P = 0.0001); both variables lagged over a 4-month period. The greatest change in malformation occurred during the main vegetative flush, which occurred 3 to 6 months after picking the fruit (May). The accumulated proportion of diseased shoots was correlated with the following variables measured over a 1-week period: average maximum daily temperature (r = -0.68, P = 0. 01), average temperature per hour (r = -0.59, P = 0.04), average number of hours with relative humidity ≥60% (r = -0.82, P = 0.001), and wind speed (r = 0.94, P = 0.0001). In general, the greatest spore density was found during the rainy season, with a morning periodicity showing the highest correlation with wind speed (r = 0.812, P = 0.0001). F. subglutinans was isolated consistently from diseased (86%) and asymptomatic (5%) vegetative and flowering shoots.